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• i LA, 



The Alchemist. 
{From Painting by Teniers.) 





THE BOY CHEMIST 


BY 

A. FREDERICK COLLINS 

Author of ^‘The Boy Astronomer, 


WITH FRONTISPIECE AND ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-TWO 

TEXT ILLUSTRATIONS 




LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO. 

BOSTON 











.C<s 


Copyright, 1924 

By LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO. 


All Rights Reserved 


THE BOY CHEMIST 



SEP - 6 


Printed in the U.S.A. 




TO 


WILLIAM COX 





FOREWORD 


During the dark ages there lived men who worked over 
seething furnaces in the vain attempt to find a way to live 
a thousand years and to make precious metals out of the 
baser ones. These men were the alchemists of old, and as 
they lived in an age of ignorance they believed many strange 
and untrue things. 

Chief among these were that earth, air, fire, and water 
were elements; that when these acted one on another, sul¬ 
phur, mercury, and salt were formed, which in turn were 
called principles; and that by combining the elements and 
the principles in the right proportions they would yield an 
essence, which when taken internally, like castor oil, would 
prolong life indefinitely, and when poured over lead would 
change, or ^Transmute,’’ it into pure gold. 

Of course they did not find this miraculous essence, so dili¬ 
gently sought, but they made a few simple discoveries which, 
while seeming to them to be of very little value, were really 
of priceless worth, for out of them came the great science of 
Chemistry as we know it to-day. There is nothing in the 
whole realm of knowledge of more absorbing interest in an 
experimental way than this branch of it, for it tells you how 
to combine atoms and molecules of various elements pro¬ 
duced by Nature and make other and entirely different 
substances. Many of these substances Nature herself 
has never made, so that you have it in your power to be a 
creator in the smaller sense; and, equally wonderful. Chem¬ 
istry tells you how to break down various compounds by 

• • 

Vll 


FOREWORD 


• • • 

vm 

means of light, heat, and electricity, and separate them 
into their original elements. 

If you would like to do these things, you will like Chem¬ 
istry, and I have written this book so that you can easily 
make the experiments, and thus gain a very good idea of 
how and why chemicals react on each other, especially if 
you will give careful attention to the chapter “Chemistry 
Simply Explained,” and do a little thinking at the same 
time. You do not need to buy all the apparatus and chemi¬ 
cals at once, but just enough to make a few of the simple 
experiments that interest you at first. The next step is to 
fit up a httle laboratory, put on an apron, and go to work 
in earnest. If you make the experiments in order, by the 
time you reach the tenth chapter you will have taken a 
fairly good course in Chemistry, and one that will serve you 
well for all time. 

From the tenth chapter on, you will find a large number 
of experiments that are strange and curious in the extreme, 
such as making a flame without light, making photographs 
with a pinhole camera, magical experiments of all kinds, and 
making safe and sane fireworks. Fin,ally, there are numer¬ 
ous experiments that have to do with household chemistry, 
which are of much interest and have a great deal of practical 
value. That much pleasure and profit will accrue to you 
from this book is the wish of the author. 

A. Frederick Collins. 

Paris j France, 

May, 1924. 


CONTENTS 


j 


CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

What You Need to Experiment with .i 

The Apparatus You Need — What the Apparatus Consists of—How to 
Make a Ring Stand — How to Make an Alcohol Lamp — How to 
Make a Bunsen Burner—How to Make a Test-Tube Rack — Your 
Supply of Chemicals — Indicator Papers and Solutions — How Litmus 
Paper Acts — How Phenolphthalein Acts — How Methyl Orange 
Acts — How Congo Red Acts — How Sulphide Test Paper Acts — How 
to Work Glass Tubing—How to Cut a Glass Tube—Howto Smooth 
Up the Sharp Edges — How to Bend Glass Tubing — How to Draw a 
Glass Nozzle. 

CHAPTER II. 

Air, the Miracle-Worker .i8 

The Height of the Atmosphere—The Weight, or Pressure, of the Air — 
Experiment to Show that the Air Has Weight— What an Element is— 
Experiments to show What a Mechanical Mixture Is — Experiment 
to Show What a Chemical Coumpound Is — What the Air is Good for 
— About Burning and Combustion — What Rusting, or Oxidation, Is 
— Experiment to Show How Iron Rusts — Experiment to Show that 
Other Metals Rust — Experiment to show that Air Is Used Up When 
Iron Rusts — How Slow Oxidation Causes Decay — What Spontane¬ 
ous Combustion Is—Substances that Oxygen Will Not Affect — 

How to Make Ozone — How to Test for Ozone. 

CHAPTER HI. 

Experiments with Oxygen, Nitrogen, and Carbon Dioxide . . 32 

A Simple Way to Make Oxygen — A Way to Make More Oxygen — 

The Self-Lighting Match — The Flashing Charcoal Pill — The Scin¬ 
tillating Watch-Spring — The Strange Action of Oxygen on Phosphorus 


IX 




X 


CONTENTS 


— How to Make an Oxy-Calcium Light — How the Oxy-Calcium 
Light Works—How Sulphur Burns in Oxygen—A Simple Way to 
Make Nitrogen — Another Easy Way to Make Nitrogen — How to 
Make a Larger Amount of Nitrogen — The Self-Extinguishing Match 
— What Else the Experiment Shows — How to Show there is Carbon 
Dioxide in the Air — To Show That You Inhale Oxygen and Exhale 
Carbon Dioxide — How to Make Carbon Dioxide — A Better Way 
to Make Carbon Dioxide — To Show that Carbon Dioxide Will Not 
Support Combustion — To Show that Carbon Dioxide Destroys Life 
—A Magical Experiment With Air, Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen—To 
Show that Carbon Dioxide Has Weight — To Separate a Candle from 
Its Flame — The Levitation of a Soap Bubble. 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Wizardry of Water. 

Some Characteristics of Water — What Water Is Made of—What Water 
Is Good for— How to Purify Water— How to Filter Water—How to 
Boil Water—How to Distil Water—Tests for the Purity of Distilled 
Water— How to Raise the Temperature of Water— How to Lower the 
Temperature of Water—How to Make Ice—What Water of Crystalliza¬ 
tion Is—How to See the Water of Crystallization—How to Make Rock- 
Candy Crystals— How to Make a Secret Writing Ink— Flow to Make 
a Weather Forecaster—How to Make Imitation Ground Glass — 
Kinds of Water—How to Tell if Water Is Soft or Hard—How to 
Test for and Get Rid of Temporary Hardness — How to Test for and 
Get Rid of Permanent Hardness—How to Test Water for Odor and 
Color—How to Test Water for Mineral Substances—How to Test 
Water for Organic Matter— How to Test Water for Carbon Dioxide — 
How to Test Water for Alkalis— How to Test Water for Lime— How 
to Test Water for Acids — How to Test Water for Iron—How to 
Test Water for Sulphur. 


CHAPTER V. 

Experiments with Hydrogen. 

How to Analyze Water — How to Make Synthetic Water with an Elec¬ 
tric Spark — How to Make Synthetic Water with an Alcohol Flame — 
How to Make Hydrogen—How to Make Hydrogen without an Acid 
— How to Pour Out Hydrogen — The Diffusion of Hydrogen — How 
to Make a Hydrogen Flame — How Hydrogen Acts on Flame — How 



CONTENTS 


XI 


PAGE 

to Blow Hydrogen Soap Bubbles — How to Blow Hydrogen Cauliflower 
Soap Bubbles — How to Blow Resin Bubbles — How to Make a Self- 
Lighting Flame—How Hydrogen Acts on Silver Nitrate—How Hydro¬ 
gen Acts on Sound—How to Make a Hydrogen-Flame Organ Pipe— 

How to Purify Hydrogen Gas — How to Dry Hydrogen. 

CHAPTER VI. 

A Pair of Smelly Gases.98 

About Chlorine and Ammonia Gases — Experiments with Chlorine — 

How to Make Chlorine — How to Test for Chlorine — How Chlorine 
Acts on Flame — Spontaneous Combustion — How to Make a Smoke 
Screen—The Art of Bleaching — How to Test the Bleaching Power 
of Chlorine—To Make a Red Rose White—How to Make Bleach¬ 
ing Powder — How to Make a Bleaching Liquid — How to Make a 
Bandanna Handkerchief—Experiment with Ammonia—How to 
Make a Little Ammonia — How to Make Ammonia on a Large Scale 
— To Show How Ammonia Dissolves in Water—How to Make an 
Ammonia-Operated Fountain — How to Make Concentrated Liquid 
Ammonia—An Experiment with Concentriated Liquid Ammonia— 

Some Uses of Aqua Ammonia. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Acids, the Great Solvents.118 

About Sulphuric Acid — The Easiest Way to Make Sulphuric Acid — 

A Better Way to Make Sulphuric Acid — Another Method for Mak¬ 
ing Sulphuric Acid — A Laboratory Method for Making Sulphuric 
Acid — How to Make Sulphur Dioxide — How to Make Sulphur Tri¬ 
oxide — How to Make Sulphuric Acid — Experiments with Sulphuric 
Acid — How to Change Sugar into Carbon — How to Write Indelibly 
on Cotton Goods — How to Make Copperas — How to Make Blue 
Vitriol — How to Make Epsom Salts — About Nitric Acid — How to 
Make Nitric Acid — Experiments with Nitric Acid — An Experiment 
in Spontaneous Combustion— The Action of Nitric Acid on Metals — 
About Hydrochloric Acid — To Make Hydrogen Chloride — To 
Make Hydrochloric Acid — Experiments with Hydrochloric Acid — 

How to Make a Hydrogen-Chloride Fountain — The Great Smoke Ex¬ 
periment — How to Make a Good Soldering Fluid — How to Make 
Imitation Emeralds — How to Make Aqua Regia — About Fluorine and 
Hydrofluoric Acid — How to Etch Glass — An Easier Way to Etch 
on Glass — How to Change Water into Ozone. 




XU 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

CHAPTER VIII. 

What Bases and Salts Are.139 

How Acids and Bases Form Salts — What the Bases Are — What the 
Salts Are — How to Make Calcium Hydroxide (Caustic Lime) — How 
to Make Sodium Hydroxide (Caustic Soda) —-How to Make Potassium 
Hydroxide (Caustic Potash) — Experiments with Hydroxides — How 
to Make Mortar—Other Things Made with Lime—How to Make 
Hard Soap — Howto Make Soft Soap—How Soap-and-Water Cleans— 

How to Make Various Salts—Sodium Chloride (Common Table 
Salt) — Sodium Sulphate (Glauber’s ^Salt) — Sodium Nitrate (Chili 
Saltpeter) — Potassium Chloride— Potassium Nitrate (Saltpeter). 


CHAPTER IX. 

The Mystic Metals—Their Alloys and Amalgams .... 150 

How the Elements Are Classified—The Activity of the Metals—Table 
of Activities—Potassium, theSoftest Metal—Compounds of Potas¬ 
sium— An Experiment with Potassium — Sodium, Another Alkali 
Metal—Compounds of Sodium—An Experiment with Sodium — 
Lithium, the Lightest Metal—Compounds of Lithium—An Experi¬ 
ment with Lithium— Calcium, the Fourth Alkaline Metal—Com¬ 
pounds of Calcium—Experiments with Calcium — Magnesium, the 
Metal that Burns—Compounds of Magnesium—Experiments with 
Magnesium — Aluminum, the Lightest Common Metal — An Experi¬ 
ment with Aluminum — Manganese, the Hardening Metal — Com¬ 
pounds of Manganese—An Experiment with Manganese—Zinc, the 
Electric Metal — Compounds of Zinc — An Experiment with Zinc — 
Chromium, the Color-Making Metal — Experiments with Chromium 
— Iron, the Most Useful Metal — An Experiment with Iron — Nickel, 
the Non-Rusting Metal—How to Nickel-plate a Coin—Tin, the Soft, 
Malleable Metal—An Experiment with Tin—Lead, the Heavy Metal— 

How to Make a Lead-Tree — Copper, the Prehistoric Metal — An 
Experiment with Copper—Bismuth, the Easily Fusible Metal—Ex¬ 
periments with Bismuth — Antimony, the Metal that Expands — 
Experiments with Antimony — Mercury, the Liquid Metal —An Ex¬ 
periment with Mercury — Silver, the Queen of Metals — An Exper¬ 
iment with Silver — Gold, the King of Metals — An Experiment 
with Gold—Platinum, the Regal Metal — How Alloys Are Made— 
Alloys of Magnesium and Aluminum—Alloys of Iron and Steel — 
Alloys of Tin and Lead — Alloys of Copper — Silver Alloys — Gold 
Alloys — How Amalgams Are Made— A Sodium Amalgam — A Zinc 
Amalgam — Tin and Zinc Amalgams. 



CONTENTS 


Xlll 


PAGE 

CHAPTER X. 

Chemistry Simply Explained. 184 

’What Matter Is — What the Properties of Matter Are—First Experi¬ 
ment— Second Experiment— The Three Common Forms of Matter— 

What Matter Is Built Up of—What the Elements Are — How the 
Elements Got Their Names — What the Symbols Mean—What the 
Symbols Show — What Equations Are. 

CHAPTER XI. 

Fire, Flame, Heat, and Light. 195 

What Fire Is — What Flame Is — What Heat Is — What Light Is — 

Ways of Making Heat and Fire — How a Candle Burns—How Ven¬ 
tilation Affects Combustion—How the Davy Safety-Lamp Works — 

How an Alcohol Lamp Burns—How Oil and Gas Lamps Burn — 

How a Bunsen Burner Works—Experiments with a Bunsen Burner — 

How to Light the Burner—The Luminous Flame of the Burner—The 
Non-Luminous Flame of the Burner — How to Make Colored Flames 
— How to Make Charcoal—How Charcoal Is Made—^What Coal Is — 

How to Make Coal Gas. 

CHAPTER XII. 

How TO Make Photographs. 209 

What Light Is—How Light Acts—How Light Acts on Silver—How 
to Make Silver Nitrate—Experiments with a Silver Nitrate Solution 
— How to Make Silver Chloride — Action of Light on Silver Chloride 
— How to Make a Pinhole Camera— How the Camera Works— How 
a Real Camera Is Made— How Dry Plates and Films Are Made—How 
a Picture Is Made on a Dry Plate or Film— How to Develop a Dry 
Plate or a Film — How to Fix the Picture — How to Make a Print 
from a Negative—Kinds of Printing Papers—Silver Papers—How 
to Make a Print — How to Tone the Print — How to Fix the Print — 

How to Make a Velox Print — How to Make and Use Blue Paper. 

CHAPTER XHI. 

The White Magic of Chemistry.227 

Pouring Wine and Water from the Same Pitcher—Changing Water into 
Ink,and Vice Versa—The Blushing Bride-*—The Magical Atomizer 
— The Rainbow Liquid—Breathing a Picture on Glass—Passing 
Smoke Invisibly into a Tumbler—Elixir Vit?ie, or the Art-ificial Pro- 





XIV 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

duction of Life — How to Make Secret Writing Inks — A Heat Sym¬ 
pathetic Ink — A Light Sympathetic Ink — A Fluorescent Sympathetic 
Ink — How to Make Spirit Pictures—The Materialization of Mysteria. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Safe and Sane Fireworks. 246 

How to Make Fire without a Match — Writing with Fire Ink—Rapid 
Oxidation of Zinc—How to Make a Safe Fuse—How to Make a 
Flash-Light—How to Make Explosive Matches—How to Make 
Rainbow Lights—How to Make Fourth of July Sparklers—How to 
Make a White Flash-Light — How to Make a Red Flash-Light — How 
to Make a Green Flash-Light — How to Make Flash Paper — How to 
Make Colored Flash Paper — How to Make Flash Handkerchiefs — 

How to Light a Paper without a Flame — How to Light a Paper with a 
Piece of Ice—The Great Fire-Eating Trick—How to Make Colored 
Fire— Red Fire— Green Fire— Yellow Fire— Bengal Lights— How 
to Make Phosphine Smoke Rings — How to Make Pharaoh’s Serpents. 


CHAPTER XV. 

Useful Household Recipes. 263 

How to Make Soaps — Toilet Soap — Perfumed Soap — Colored Soap 
— Floating Soap — Glycerine Soap — Sapolio — How to Make a Safe 


Dry-Cleansing Compound — How to Take Out Spots and Stains — 
A Fresh Grease Spot—Old Grease Spots—Paint Spots—Ink Spots 

— Iron-Rust Stains—Alkali Spots—Mildew Stains—How to Make 
Bleaching Compounds—For Cotton and Linen Goods—For Wool 
and Silk— For Hair and Wool— How to Make Disinfectants— How 
to Make and Use Natural-Color Dyes—Direct or Substantive Dyes 

— Red Logwood Dye—Black Logwood Dye—Green Logwood Dye 

— Yellow Tumeric Dye—Brown Tumeric Dye—Bright Red Cochi¬ 
neal Dye — Orange Cochineal Dye — Violet Cochineal Dye — Insoluble 
Dyes—To Dye Indigo Blue—To Dye Tumeric Yellow—Mordant, 
or Adjective, Dyes—How to Make and Use Aniline Dyes—Direct 
Aniline Dyes for Cotton Goods—Mordant Aniline Dyes for Cotton 
Goods—Acid Colors for Silk and Woolen Goods—How to Make 
Inks — Black Ink — Blue Ink — Purple Ink — Red Ink — Green 
Ink—Printer’s Ink—Some Other Useful Recipes—How to Make 
a Liquid Ink Eraser—How to Make a Good China Cement—How to 
Make an Adhesive Paste—How to Make Fire-Extinguishing Compounds 

— How to Clean Silverware Chemically—How to Clean Silverware 
Electrically—How to Waterproof Goods—How to Fireproof Goods 

— How to Make a Hair-Remover. 




ILLUSTRATIONS 


The Alchemist {Frotn Painting by Teniers) Frontispiece 

PAGE 

Fig. I — A Bought Ring Stand. 3 

Fig. 2 — A Home-Made Ring Stand. 3 

Fig. 3 — A Bought Alcohol Lamp. 4 

Fig. 4 — A Home-Made Alcohol Lamp. 4 

Fig. 5 — A Bought Bunsen Burner. 5 

Fig. 6 — A Home-Made Bunsen Burner. 5 

Fig. 7 — a Test Tube. 6 

Fig. 8 — A Test-Tube Brush. 6 

Fig. 9 — A Test-Tube Holder. 6 

Fig. 10 — A Bought Test-Tube Rack. 7 

Fig. II—A Home-Made Test-Tube Rack. 7 

Fig. 12 — A Glass Stirring Rod. 8 

Fig. 13 — A Pipette or Medicine Dropper. 8 

Fig. 14 — A Nest of Beakers .. 9 

Fig. 15—An Ordinary Spherical Flask. 9 

Fig. 16—An Erlenmeyer Flask. 9 

Fig. 17 —A Glass Funnel.10 

Fig. 18—A Mortar and Pestle.10 

Fig. 19—An Ordinary Wide-Mouth Bottle.ii 

Fig. 20—A Woulff’s Bottle.ii 

Fig. 21—A Four-Ounce Graduated Glass.ii 

Fig. 22 —A Teaspoonful Graduated Glass.ii 

Fig. 23—A Porcelain Crucible.12 

Fig. 24 — A Glass Retort.12 

Fig. 25 — A Watch Crystal.13 

Fig. 26 — A Porcelain Evaporating-Dish.13 

Fig. 27 — A Five-Inch U-Tube.13 

Fig. 28 — A Pair of Tweezers .13 

Fig. 29 — How to Cut a Glass Tube .15 

Fig. 30 — How to Bend a Glass Tube.16 


XV 
















xvi ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Fig. 31 —How to Draw a Glass Nozzle ...... 17 

Fig. 32 — The Earth’s Atmosphere is Shaped Like a Football 19 

Fig. 33 — An Experiment Which Shows that the Air Has 

Pressure.21 

Fig. 34 — Separating Iron Filings from Sulphur by a Stream 

of Air.22 

Fig. 35 — Separating Iron Filings from Sulphur with a Magnet 22 

Fig. 36 — Making a Chemical Compound.23 

Fig. 37 — Apparatus for Making Lead and Tin Rust ... 27 

Fig. 38 — Apparatus to Show that Air Is Used When Iron Rusts 27 

Fig. 39 — How to Make and Experiment with a Little Oxygen 33 

Fig. 40 — How the Delivery Tube is Bent.34 

Fig. 41 —The Hole in the Cork.34 

Fig. 42 — The Oxygen Apparatus Complete.34 

Fig. 43 — The Wire on the Match.36 

Fig. 44 — The Self-Lighting Match.36 

Fig. 45 — The Scintillating Watch-Spring.37 

Fig. 46 — Filling the Bladder with Oxygen.38 

Fig. 47 — Directing a Stream of Oxygen on Phosphorus . . 39 

Fig. 48 — How to Make an Oxy-Calcium Light .... 40 

Fig. 49 — A Simple Way to Make Nitrogen.42 

Fig. 50 — A Better Way to Make a Little Nitrogen ... 43 

Fig. 51 —How to Make Nitrogen for Experimental purposes. 44 
Fig. 52 — A Simple Way to Show Carbon Dioxide ... 47 

Fig. 53 — A Better Way to Show Carbon Dioxide .... 48 

Fig. 54 — A Simple Way to Make Carbon Dioxide ... 49 

Fig. 55 — A Better Way to Make Carbon Dioxide ... 50 

Fig. 56 — To Make a Larger Amount of Carbon Dioxide. . 51 

Fig. 57 — A Magical Experiment.53 

Fig. 58 — Pouring Carbon Dioxide from One Jar Into Another 54 

Fig. 59 — Separating the Flame of a Candle from Its Wick . 54 

Fig. 60 —The Levitation of a Soap Bubble.55 

Fig. 61 — How the Filter Paper is Creased.58 

Fig. 62 — The Filter Paper in the Funnel.59 

Fig. 63 — The Funnel in Use.59 

Fig. 64 — How to Distil a Little Water.60 

Fig. 65 — A Better Apparatus for Distilling Water ... 61 

Fig. 66 — An Apparatus for Distilling Water on a Large Scale 62 

Fig. 67 — How to Raise the Temperature of Water ... 63 

Fig. 68 — How to Make Ice.65 

Fig. 69 — How to Make Rock-Candy.66 















ILLUSTRATIONS 


Fig. 70 — How to Test for Mineral Matter in Water . 

Fig. 71 — How to Test for Organic Matter in Water . 

Fig. 72 — Separating Water into Its Original Gases 

Fig. 73 — Diagram of the Theory of Ionization .... 

Fig. 74 — The Eudiometer. 

Fig. 75 — The Eudiometer Connected with the Spark Coil 
Fig. 76 — The Eudiometer Ready for the Experiment. 

Fig. 77 — Producing Water with an Alcohol Flame. 

Fig. 78 — How to Make Hydrogen. 

Fig. 79 — How to Pour Out Hydrogen. 

Fig. 80 — The Diffusion of Hydrogen. 

Fig. 81 — How to Make a Hydrogen Flame. 

Fig. 82 — The Hydrogen Burns Gently. 

Fig. 83 — The Match Is Extinguished. 

Fig. 84 — The Hydrogen Mixed with Air Explodes 

Fig. 85 — Blowing Hydrogen Soap Bubbles. 

Fig. 86 — How to Blow Hydrogen Cauliflower Soap Bubbles 
Fig. 87 — Melting the Resin and Linseed Oil Over a Water 

Bath. 

Fig. 88 — A Self-Lighting Gas Flame. 

Fig. 89 — An Electric Bell in Hydrogen . 

Fig. 90 — A Squeaking Head in Hydrogen. 

Fig. 91 — A Hydrogen-Flame Organ Pipe ...... 

Fig. 92 — How to Purify Hydrogen and Other Gases . 

Fig. 93 — How to Dry Hydrogen and Other Gases 
Fig. 94 — Apparatus for Generating Chlorine Gas 

Fig. 95 — How to Make a Smoke Screen. 

Fig. 96 — Making Some Dry Chlorine Gas. 

Fig. 97 — The Writing in the Bottle. 

Fig. 98 — The Writing Bleached Out. 

Fig. 99 — To Make a Red Rose White . . . . 

Fig. ioo — How to Make a Bandanna Handkerchief 
Fig. ioi — Making a Little Ammonia Gas . . . . 

Fig. 102 — Rubbing Up Sal Ammoniac and Slaked Lime in a 

Mortar.. 

Fig. 103 — Making Ammonia Gas for Experimental Purposes . 

Fig. 104 — The Test Tube Sealed by Mercury. 

Fig. 105 — The Test Tube Lifted from the Mercury . . . 

Fig. 106 — An Ammonia-Operated Fountain ..... 
Yiq, 107 — Apparatus for Making Concentrated Liquid Am¬ 
monia . 


xvii 

PAGE 

71 

72 

77 

73 

79 

80 

81 

81 

83 

84 

85 

86 
87 

87 

88 

89 

90 

91 

91 

92 

93 

94 

95 

96 

IOO 

103 

104 

105 

106 

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108 

109 

no 

III 

II3 

113 

114 

115 


















ILLUSTRATIONS 


xviii 

PAGE 


Fig. io 8 — Boiling Ammonia with the Heat of Your Hand . 116 

Fig. 109 — Sulphur Burning in a Bottle.120 

Fig. no — Introducing the Nitric Acid.120 

Fig. Ill — A Better Way to Make Dilute Sulphuric Acid . . 121 

Fig. 112 — Laboratory Method for Making Sulphuric Acid . 123 

Fig. 113 — How to Make Nitric Acid .128 

Fig. 114 —How to Make Hydrochloric Acid.132 

Fig. 115—A Hydrogen-Chloride Fountain.133 

Fig. 116 — The Great Smoke Experiment.134 

Fig. 117—How to Etch Glass with Hydrofluoric Acid . . . 136 

Fig. 118 —The Reaction of Potassium on Water . . . .153 

Fig. 119 — Magnesium Burning in Air.159 

Fig. 120 — Making Iron by the Thermit Process . « . . 161 

Fig. 121 —A Simple Electric Cell.163 

Fig. 122 — Chromium Crystals and Alcohol Bursting into 

Flames.165 

Fig. 123 — Making Ferric Sulphide.166 

Fig. 124 — How to Make a Lead-Tree.170 

Fig. 125 —How to Electroplate with Copper.171 

Fig. 126—How to Heat Antimony with a Blow-Pipe . . . 174 

Fig. 127 — Clearly Two Bodies Cannot Occupy the Same Space 

at the Same Time.185 

Fig. 128 — This Experiment Seems to Show that Two Bodies 

Can Occupy the Same Space at the Same Time . 186 

Fig. 129 — How Atoms Form the Molecule, and Molecules the 

Mass.188 

Fig. 130 —How the Negative and Positive Particles of Electri¬ 
city form the Atom .188 

Fig. 131 — Two Atoms of Oxygen Make a Molecule of Oxygen 190 
Fig. 132 — Three Atoms of Oxygen Make a Molecule of Ozone 190 

Fig. 133 — The Flame of a Candle.198 

Fig. 134 — How Ventilation Affects Combustion .... 199 

Fig. 135 — The Davy Safety-Lamp in Operation .... 200 


Fig. 136—The Principle on which the Davy Safety-Lamp 

Works.201 

Fig. 137 — The Bunsen Burner.202 

Fig. 138 — A Luminous Gas Flame.203 

Fig. 139 — A Non-Luminous Gas Flame.203 

Fig. 140 — Proving the Dark Cone to Be Unburnt Gas . . 204 

Fig. 141 — Production of Colored Flames.205 

Fig. 142 — Cross-Section of a Charcoal Kiln.206 















ILLUSTRATIONS 


XIX 


PAGE 

Fig. 143 — A Miniature Gas Works.207 

Fig. 144 — How a Stone Sends out Water-Waves .... 210 

Fig. 145—How a Bell Sends out Sound-Waves . . . . 211 

Fig. 146 — How a Candle Sends out Light-Waves . . . .212 

Fig. 147 — How Silver Chloride Is Made.214 

Fig. 148 — How to Make a Pinhole Camera.216 

Fig. 149 — How the Image Is Reversed.217 

Fig. 150 — How a Real Camera Works.218 

Fig. 151 — Coating the Plate with Silver Emulsion . . 219 

Fig. 152—A Negative-Rack.222 

Fig. 153—A Printing-Frame.224 

Fig. 154 — How Wine and Water are Poured from the Same 

Pitcher.228 

Fig. 155 — Changing Water into Ink.230 

Fig. 156 — How the Ink Tablet Is Held.231 

Fig. 157 — The Feathers in Their Support.232 

Fig. 158 — Spraying a Feather .232 

Fig. 159 — Breathing a Picture on Glass.234 

Fig. 160 — Passing Smoke Invisibly into the Glass Tumblers . 235 

Fig. 161 — Showing the Smoke in the Tumblers^ .... 236 

Fig. 162 — Elixir Vitae, or the Artificial Production of Life . 237 

Fig. 163 — The Wire Frame.242 

Fig. 164 — The Spirit of Mysteria.244 

Fig. 165 — Writing with Fire Ink.247 

Fig. 166 — Making Rainbow Lights . . '.250 

Fig. 167 — A Fourth of July Sparkler.251 

Fig. 168 —Lighting a Flash-Light.252 

Fig. 169 — Lighting a Paper without a Match.255 

Fig. 170 — The Great Fire-Eating Trick.257 

Fig. 171 — Making Phosphine Smoke Rings.259 

Fig. 172 — Pharaoh’s Serpent Cometh Forth.260 





















THE BOY CHEMIST 


CHAPTER I 

WHAT YOU NEED TO EXPERIMENT WITH 

The two chief things you need to make the experiments 
described in this book are the apparatus and the chemicals. 
You can improvise some of the apparatus and use household 
china and glassware for other pieces, but it is better to buy 
whatever equipment you need, for it costs but very little, 
and having been designed especially for the purpose, it will 
prove far more satisfactory. However, I shall tell you how 
to construct whatever pieces of apparatus I think you can 
make, so that in case you happen to be far removed from a 
chemical supply house you can go ahead with the experi¬ 
ments, anyway, and not lose valuable time. 

The Apparatus You Need. If you can, it is the better 
way to get the following pieces of apparatus before you 
start in to experiment, as you will need them right along: 

1. A Ring-Stand. 

2. An Alcohol Lamp, or a Bunsen Burner. 

3. A Sheet of Iron Gauze. 

4. A Set of 6 Test Tubes. 

5. A Test-Tube Rack. 

6 . A Test-Tube Brush. 

7. A Glass Stirring Rod. 

8. A Pipette, or Medicine Dropper. 

9. An Ordinary Teaspoon and a Tablespoon. 

10. A Nest of 3 Beakers. 

1 



2 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


11. One or Two Flasks. 

12. A Glass Funnel. 

13. A Mortar and Pestle. 

14.. Two or Three Wide-Mouth Bottles. 

15. Some Corks, or, better. Rubber Stoppers to fit the 
Bottles. 

16. A Cork-Borer. 

17. A Graduated Glass. 

18. A Porcelain Crucible. 

19. A Glass Retort. 

20. Several Watch Glasses. 

21. A Glass U-Tube. 

22. Several Pieces of S/g-Inch Glass Tubing. 

23. Some 34 -Inch Rubber Tubing. 

24.. A Pair of Forceps, or Tweezers. 

25. A Dozen Sheets of Filter Paper. 

26. Two Sheets of Litmus Paper. 

What the Apparatus Consists of. Now before we go any 
farther, let us find out just what each of the above pieces of 
apparatus consists of. 

A bought ring-stand is shown in Fig. i, and one that you 
can make in Fig. 2. Take a piece of ps-inch or ^e-inch 
iron wire 2 feet long, and form a ring on one end 4 inches 
in diameter so that it will stand on the table. Now take 
a piece of 34-inch iron wire and make a ring 2^ inches in 
diameter and then bend the free end into a spiral of three 
or four turns with a pair of round-nose pliers, so that it 
will slip snugly over the support rod of the ring-stand, and 
it is ready to use. 


WHAT YOU NEED TO EXPERIMENT WITH 


3 


The proper kind of an alcohol lamp to use is shown in 
Fig. 3, but if you are hard-pressed for a flame you can make 
a lamp of an empty inkstand; to do so, bend a strip of tin 
inches wide and i^ inches long into a tube and then 
bore a ^g-inch hole through the cork and push the tube 
into it so that it will project at both ends. Next, make a 



Fig. I. —A Bought Ring-Stand. 



i 


•< 

WIRE 


Fig. 2. —Home-Made Ring-Stand. 


wick of string about 4 inches long and put this in the tube, 
half fill the bottle with methyl alcohol {CH^OH)^ which 
is ordinary wood alcohol, put the long end of the wick into 
it, and then the cork in the bottle, and your alcohol lamp 
will look like Fig. 4. 

You can buy a Bunsen burner. Fig. 5, for 50 cents or 
less, and this will give you a much hotter flame than an 
alcohol lamp. Again, if you are pressed for the want of 


































4 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


one, take a piece of iron pipe ^ inch in diameter, inside 
measurement, and 6 inches long, and drill a ^-inch hole 
through it about 13^ inches from one end. Then make a 
tin ring 3^ inch wide that will just slip over the pipe and 
cover the hole, and you can regulate the supply of air.i 
Now bore a hole in the center of a block of wood that 
is ^ inch thick and 3 inches on the sides and push the 



Fig. 3. —A Bought Alcohol Lamp. Fig. 4. —A Home-Made Alcohol Lamp. 


tube into it; glue two strips of wood, ^ inch thick, to the 
bottom of the block along its edges, then put a rubber tube 
on the lower end of the pipe and connect it with a gas jet 
from which you have taken out the tip, and the burner is 
complete, as shown in Fig. 6. A sheet of iron gauze is laid 
on the upper ring of the stand and the flask, or other piece 
of chemical glassware, is set on it when you want to heat 
any Hquid to the boiflng point. Iron gauze comes in 

1 The reason for regulating the air supply is explained in Chapter XI. 














































WHAT YOU NEED TO EXPERIMENT WITH 


5 


sheets 4 by 4 inches on the sides, and you can also buy it 
with the meshes filled in with asbestos for slow evaporation. 

A set of three 5-inch and three 6-inch test tubes, see 
Fig. 7, will serve for your experiments, at least at first. 
To clean the test tubes you will need a test-tube brush, as 
shown in Fig. 8, and you can buy or make a test-tube 



Fig. 5.—A Bought Bunsen Burner. Fig. 6.—A Home-Made Bunsen Burner. 

holder, as shown in Fig. 9. A regular test-tube rack is 
shown in Fig. 10, but you can make one by bending a piece 
of ^2-irich brass or iron wire 4 feet long into the shape 
shown in Fig. ii. 

A glass stirring rod is a solid glass rod about ii^ch in 
diameter and 6 inches long, as shown in Fig. 12. You can 
use a glass tube instead, though some of the liquid usually 
gets up into it and stays there. A pipette is simply a 




















































6 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


medicine dropper, see Fig. 13, and this enables you to put 
one or more drops of a liquid into a test tube or beaker with 
neatness, accuracy, and dispatch. 

A beaker is a tumbler-shaped glass with a lip on it, as 
shown in Fig. 14, so that you can pour a liquid from it 
without spilling it. You can use an ordinary glass tumbler 
instead of a beaker except when you have to heat it. You 
should have a set of three beakers, or nest, as it is called, 



Fig. 7. 

A Test Tube. 



Fig. 8.—A Test-Tube Brush. 



Fig. 9.—A Test-Tube Holder. 


because one goes inside another, and the smallest can be 
2 inches, the next 2 }^ inches, and the third 3 inches in 
diameter. 

You can buy in two shapes flasks of annealed glass that 
can be heated without breaking, and these are shown in 
Figs. 15 and 16. The first is the regular spherical form 
with a flat bottom, and this can be set directly in the ring 
of your stand over the flame. The second is called an 
Erlenmeyer flask, and its shape is such that while it can- 























WHAT YOU NEED TO EXPERIMENT WITH 


7 


not be easily tipped over, it can be set only on a ring-stand 
on a piece of wire gauze. 

A glass funnel will be found useful where you have to 
transfer the contents of one vessel into another, especially 



Fig. io. —A Bought Test-Tube Rack. 



Fig. II.—A Home-Made Test-Tube Rack. 


if these are bottles, as well as for filtering solutions. A 
funnel with a mouth 3 inches in diameter, and with the 
stem cut at an angle, as shown in Fig. 17, will be large 
enough. You will need also a package of 5-inch filter 
paper. A 2^-inch or 3-inch glass or porcelain mortar and 










































































8 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


a pestle, see Fig. i8, must be used where you have to grind 
a substance to a powder. 

A 4-ounce or an 8-ounce wide-mouth bottle, like that 
pictured in Fig. 19, is used in many operations, especially 
in purifying gases. You can use a ^-pint fruit jar in a 
pinch, but a bottle is better. An ordinary cork will serve 
as a stopper, but a rubber stopper makes a tighter fit. 
While you can make a hole in a cork with a knife and 
smooth it up with a rat-tail file, an easier, quicker, and, 
hence, better way is to use a cork-borer. Rubber stoppers 
can be bought with holes in them, ready for inserting glass 



Fig. 12.—A Glass Stirring Rod. 



Fig. 13.—A Pipette or Medicine Dropper. 


tubes. In experiments where two or three glass tubes have 
to be inserted in a bottle, you can also use a Woulffs 
bottle that has two or three necks, as shown in Fig. 20. 

With a graduated glass. Fig. 21, you can measure out 
liquids in fluid ounces, and you can get at the drug store a 
small one with which you can measure l to 8 teaspoonfuls 
and from i to 2 tablespoonfuls; it is shown in Fig. 22, 
and for many of the experiments described in this book 
it is very convenient. A porcelain crucible fitted with a 
cover enables you to heat compounds to a high tempera¬ 
ture; a small one having a diameter of inches, see 




WHAT YOU NEED TO EXPERIMENT WITH 9 

23) will be quite large enough for any experiment you 
will want to make. 

The retort shown in Fig. 24 is made of a kind of glass 
which has been carefully annealed, so that it can be heated 
to quite a high temperature without breaking. It is made 
with a ground-glass stopper, and can be set in a ring-stand 
directly over a flame. Half a dozen watch glasses, or 
crystalsy as they are often called, see Fig. 25, are useful for 




Fig. 14. —A Nest of 
Beakers. 


Fig. 15. —An Ordinary 
Spherical Flask. 


Fig. 16. —An Erlen- 
meyer Flask. 


evaporating small quantities of solutions, and you should 
also have a 3-inch porcelain evaporating dish, which is 
shown in Fig. 26. A 5-inch U-tube, pictured in Fig. 27, is 
a convenient apparatus for purifying and drying gases. 
When handling phosphorus (P), potassium (AT), and other 
solids that you do not want to get on your hands, use a 
pair of forceps, or tweezers they are commonly called. 
These are shown in Fig. 28. 

Besides the above apparatus you will need several pieces 






























































10 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


of glass tubing that is sold under the trade name of German 
soft glass; you can easily bend this kind of glass in the 
flame of your alcohol lamp or Bunsen burner, which pro¬ 
cess I shall explain to you a little farther along. Get the 
tubing ^ inch (about 8 millimeters)^ in diameter, outside 
measurement, and in 2-foot lengths. You can buy glass 
T-tubes and glass Y-tubes of the same size if you should 
need them. You must also get two or three feet of rubber 
tubing, with inside diameter, 34 inch, for making connections. 



Fig. 17. —A Glass Funnel. Fig. 18. —A Mortar and Pestle. 


While I have given the amounts of chemicals to be used 
in making the experiments in this book in the way that 
seemed to me to be the easiest for you to measure out, still, 
in chemistry as it is taught in schools to-day, the solid kinds 
of chemicals are most carefully weighed out on a pair of 
scales, or a balance, and liquids are measured out in a 
graduated cyhnder, and for both of these the metric system 
of measurements is used. 

This system of weights and measures runs in multiples 

I It is listed in the catalogues in the metric system. 











WHAT YOU NEED TO EXPERIMENT WITH 11 


of ten, and this is, consequently, much more simple than 
the English system, which is purely an arbitrary one that 
has come down to us from an unscientific past. You can 
buy a small pair of hand scales, or a balance, for $1.50 or 
so, but the weights will cost you considerably more, and 
you can get a medium-size graduated cylinder for about 



Fig. 19. —An Ordinary 
Wide-Mouth Bottle. 



Fig. 21.—A Four- 
Ounce Graduated 
Glass. 



Fig. 22.—A Tea¬ 


spoonful Graduated 
Glass. 


$.75. Both of these you will eventually require in order 
to do accurate work, but for all the experiments that follow 
in these pages they will not be needed. 

Your Supply of Chemicals. I shall not write out a list 
of the chemicals you will need, for you can do this better 
after you have decided what experiments you want to 
make. But what you should do is to write to the firms I 
































































































































12 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


have named below for their price-lists of chemicals.' These 
will include not only all those I have named in this book 
but many others. Many of the chemicals you will want 
can be bought of your druggist, and you can often get test 
tubes and other ordinary pieces of chemical glassware of 
him. 



Fig. 24.—A Glass Retort. 


Fig. 23.—A Porcelain Crucible. 


While many of the chemicals come in the form of solid 
substances, it is a good scheme to keep them in tightly 
corked bottles, while acids and other liquids should be 
kept in glass-stoppered bottles. Label each bottle care¬ 
fully and then place all of them in a cabinet where the 
light cannot reach them, as some compounds decompose 
under its action.* Place them in the cabinet in alpha- 

1 When you have made out the list of the chemicals and chemical apparatus, 
you should write to the L. E. Knott Apparatus Co., Cambridge, Mass., or to 
Eimer and Amend, Third Ave. and Eighteenth St., New York City, and 
either firm will not only quote you prices but will give you other information 
you want. 

2 See Chapter XII. 








WHAT YOU NEED TO EXPERIMENT WITH 


13 


betical order so that you will know at a glance just what 
you have in stock and, what is equally to the point, will 
be able to find the one you want without having to hunt 
for it. It is also a good plan to keep all the poisonous 
chemicals together and to put a red label on each of these, 
and tie a string around the neck of each one, to the end 
that you will not mistake them. 



Fig. 25.—A Watch Crystal. 




Fig. 26.—A Porcelain 
Evaporating Dish. 



Fig. 28.—A Pair of Tweezers. 


Indicator Papers and Solutions. Indicators are papers or 
liquids that change from one color to another when they 
are dipped in or mixed with an acid or an alkaline solution. 
Hence, if you want to know whether a solution is acid, 
neutral, or alkaline you have only to test it with an in¬ 
dicator. 















































14 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


How Litmus Paper Acts. Litmus is a blue coloring 
matter that is found in lichens, and hence its name. When 
this is extracted from the plant it is dissolved in hot water 
{H2O) and a sheet of absorbent paper, that is, paper with¬ 
out any sizing in it,—like filter paper—is dipped in the 
solution and then dried, taking on a blue color; this, then, 
is the way that blue litmus paper is made. If, now, you 
dip the paper in a weak acid solution it will turn red, and 
this gives you red litmus paper] finally, if you dip this in an 
alkaline solution it will turn blue again. Litmus paper 
is the simplest, though not the most sensitive, of the indi¬ 
cators, but it will serve for all your experiments. You can 
buy blue and red litmus paper already prepared, as well as 
the other indicators that follow. 

How Phenolphthalein Acts. Phenolphthalein (C20-0^1404) 
—^pronounced fen-ol'-tha-lein —is a colorless substance that 
is much used by chemists as an indicator. This is because 
it is very sensitive to acids, even to those of the weakest 
kind, but it shows the presence of an alkali only when the 
latter is strong. It acts the reverse of litmus in that it 
remains colorless when it is used with acids, but turns red 
in alkaline solutions. 

How Methyl Orange Acts. This indicator is a complex 
compound with the gentle formula of (CH^NCeN^. N. 
CeHiSO^N) and you will come to a full realization of 
what this means as you get farther along in the book. It 
is a vegetable substance, and when added to an acid solu¬ 
tion it turns red, and when added to an alkaline solution it 
turns yellow. Its value lies in the fact that it is a very sen¬ 
sitive indicator of weak alkalis. 


WHAT YOU NEED TO EXPERIMENT WITH 15 

How Congo Red Acts. Congo red {NCs2H22N6S20e) 
has also, as you will see from its formula, a complex struc¬ 
ture. Congo red paper when dipped in an alkaline solu¬ 
tion remains red^ and when dipped in acid solutions turns 
blue, hence it acts in just the reverse way from litmus 
paper. Its especial usefulness lies in the fact that it shows 



graduation of color, by which is meant that the depth of 
the blue it turns depends entirely on the strength of the acid 
which you are testing. 

How Sulphide Test Paper Acts. Sulphide test paper is 
used for testing the presence of sulphur ( 5 ) in water {H2O) 
and other liquids. If the liquid contains sulphur ( 5 ), the 
test paper wiU turn brownish-black. 

How to Work Glass Tubing. While you can buy glass 
tubing bent to whatever shape you want it, stiU in making 
chemical experiments you will often find it a great con¬ 
venience to be able to bend it yourself, and as it is an easy 
and pleasant job. I’ll tell you how to do it. 

How to Cut a Glass Tube. As I have mentioned under the 
caption of ‘^The Apparatus You Need,” you want to get 
the kind of glass tubing that goes under the trade name of 
German soft glass, as this kind melts at a comparatively 








16 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


low temperature. This kind of tubing comes in 2-foot 
lengths, and so the first thing is to know how to cut off a 
piece of the length you want to use. To do this, you need 
only to file a nick in it with a three-cornered file, when it 
will easily break in two. The way you hold it to do this 
is shown in Fig. 29. 

How to Smooth up the Sharp Edges. Hold the end of 
the tube that you want to smooth up in the flame of your 
alcohol lamp, or, better because it is hotter, a Bunsen 



Fig. 30.—How to Bend a Glass Tube. 


burner, and turn it rapidly around. As soon as it is hot 
enough it will begin to melt, and this will round the sharp 
edges, and you can easily see just how far to carry the 
process. 

How to Bend Glass Tubing. To bend a piece of glass 
tubing, hold it in the flame of your alcohol lamp or Bunsen 
burner with a wing-top attachment until it is red-hot an 
inch or so on either side of the place where you are going 
to make the bend. Now turn the tube rapidly round in the 
flame so that it will heat equally all over until it gets soft. 
This done, take it out of the flame and while it is still at a 












WHAT YOU NEED TO EXPERIMENT WITH 17 


red heat you can bend it to whatever shape you want. 
You must not heat it until it is too soft, or you will find 
that the walls of the tube will collapse and so close up the 
bore. Figure 30 shows the way it is done. 

How to Draw a Glass Nozzle. In many cases where you 
want a tube with a nozzle on it you can take the rubber 



Fig. 31.—How to Draw a Glass Nozzle. 


bulb off a pipette, that is, a medicine dropper, and use it, 
but if you should want a nozzle with a little larger or a 
little smaller opening in it, the only way to get it quickly 
is to make one. To do this, cut off a piece of glass tube 
about 4 inches long, hold both ends of it so that the middle 
will be in the flame of your lamp or burner, and at the same 
time keep turning it round so that it will heat evenly. 

When it gets red hot it will be quite soft, and you can 
then draw it out until it is very thin in the middle, as shown 
in Fig. 31. Now take it out of the flame and make a cut 
with a file at the place where it will give an opening of the 
size you want; this done, gently tap it with your file. It 
will break off and the nozzle is ready to use. 




CHAPTER II. 


AIR, THE MIRACLE-WORKER 

The word atmosphere is generally used to mean the 
whole mass of the air that surrounds the earth, while the 
word air itself is taken to mean some small or large part of 
it. The atmosphere is really a shell formed of gases, the 
inside of which has, naturally, the same shape as that of 
the exterior of the earth, while its outside surface is more 
like a football than it is like a baseball, since it is flattened 
out on its opposite sides,as shown in the diagram. Fig. 32. 

The Height of the Atmosphere. To just what height 
the atmosphere extends is not known with any degree of 
certainty, but it is variously estimated to be from 50 to 200 
miles, and it may extend in a highly rarefied state even 
farther than the last-named figure indicates. Now there 
are several ways by which its height can be calculated, 
but all of them give results that are different, as the follow¬ 
ing will show. 

Since the speed of the earth as it turns on its axis is 
known, its centrifugal force, that is, the force by which a 
rapidly rotating body tends to throw things off from its 
surface, can be figured out. This action is, of course, 
opposed by the force of gravity, which tends to hold all 
things down to the surface. But as gravity exerts a con¬ 
stantly decreasing pull on the air the higher up it gets, it 

18 


AIR, THE MIRACLE-WORKER 19 

can be shown that the upper limit of it is only about 50 
miles. 

Another way to find the approximate height of the upper 
limit of the atmosphere is with a barometer. This is an 
instrument that really measures the weight, or pressure, of 
the air, and as this decreases with its height it is easy to 



Fig. 32.—The Earth’s Atmosphere is Shaped Like a Football. 

calculate its upward limit by taking several readings of the 
barometer at different levels near the surface of the earth. 
This method shows that the height of the atmosphere is 
about 100 miles. 

A third and very interesting way to find the height of 
the air, is by the length of twilight. If the earth were not 
surrounded with an atmosphere, there would be no twilight 
and the day would suddenly change into night the moment 






20 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


the sun sank below the horizon. But if the earth’s atmos¬ 
phere reached a height of a thousand instead of a hundred 
miles or so, then we should have daylight all the time, for 
the light of the sun is refracted, that is, it is bent out of its 
course, and diffused, or spread out by the gases of which 
the former is composed, and so some of the light from it 
would reach us whatever the relative positions of the earth 
and sun might be. Hence, it is the height of the atmosphere 
that determines the length of our twilight. 

Thus while the sun is yet below the horizon in the morn¬ 
ing, its rays are bent up and we get some of its light when 
we have dawn, and again when the sun drops below the 
horizon in the evening, and then we have twilight. 

In the extreme northern and southern regions where the 
days are the longest, twilight is always present, so that 
there is enough light to see by throughout the whole night. 
Oppositely, at the equator twilight is very short, and on 
top of the Andes it lasts for only about half an hour. By 
figuring the height of the atmosphere on the basis of the 
length of twilight, the results show that the limit of the 
atmosphere is reached in the neighborhood of 200 miles 
above the earth’s surface. 

The Weight or Pressure of the Air. The atmosphere 
must have weight or else it would not cling so tightly to 
the earth’s surface, and since it has weight it must exert a 
pressure on the surface of the earth. It must be clear, too, 
that having weight the atmosphere is denser directly on 
the surface of the earth than it is at the upper levels, in 
fact a cubic foot of it weighs ounces at sea level, while its 
pressure at sea level is, roughly, 15 pounds to the square inch. 


AIR, THE MIRACLE-WORKER 


21 


Experiment to Show that the Air has Weight. Here is 
an experiment that not only shows that the atmosphere 
has weight but also that it has pressure, and that this is 
equal in all directions. Take a tumbler that has a flat rim 
and fill it full of water {H2O). Then lay a piece of card¬ 
board on top of it and then invert it, that is, turn it upside 



Fig. 33. —^An Experiment which shows that the Air has Pressure. 

down, as shown in Fig. 33. While the water {H2O) weighs 
so much more than a like volume of air, the pull of gravity 
on the water {H2O) will not make it run out, because the 
force is less than that of the pressure of the air on the sur¬ 
face of the cardboard. 

What an Element Is. An element in chemistry is a 
form of matter that cannot be changed into any simpler 































22 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


form.i A substance is a mass of matter that is made up 
of one or more elements. Some substances are made up 
by merely mixing two or more elements together mechani¬ 


cally ^ and others are made up 
elements chemically. 

Experiments to Show what 
The two following experiments 



by combining two or more 


a Mechanical Mixture Is. 
will give you a very good 



idea of what a mechanical mixture is and why. Take 
some very fine iron filings {Fe) and an equal amount of pul¬ 
verized sulphur (5) and stir them well together, as though 
you were going to make a pie. The mass will then take on 
a greyish color. There has been no chemical action between 
the two elements, and to prove that they are simply mixed 
together you have only to pour them out on a sheet of paper 

1 The splitting up of the atoms of various elements by Rutherford modifies 
this statement somewhat, but it still holds good for all ordinary purposes. 











AIR, THE MIRACLE-WORKER 


23 


and then blow gently on them, as shown in Fig. 34, when 
the sulphur ( 5 ), which is very much lighter than the filings, 
will be carried away, and the iron {Fe) only will remain. 

A somewhat more scientific test is to hold a magnet close 
to the mixture, as in Fig. 35, when the iron'(Fe) filings will 
be attracted to the poles of it and the sulphur (vS) will be 



Fig. 36. —Making a Chemical Compound. 


left behind. The above experiments show clearly enough 
that the mixture is a purely mechanical one. 

Experiments to Show what a Chemical Compound Is. 
The following experiment will demonstrate in a striking 
manner what a chemical compound is. Put the iron {Fe) 












24 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


filings and the powdered sulphur (S) in an earthenware 
dish and then pour a little warm water ( H2O) over them, as 
shown in Fig. 36. In a short time you will see that a change 
is taking place in the mass, that it gets very hot, swells up, 
and takes on a black metallic-looking color. The resultant 
mass has none of the characteristics of iron (Fe) or of sul¬ 
phur (6'), but is a different substance entirely from either 
one of them, for they have combined chemically and now 
form ferrous ^ sulphide (FeS). 

Now gases behave like solids in that they can either be 
merely mixed or they can be combined chemically, in which 
case they will form a new substance. Air is formed chiefly 
of two gases, which are oxygen ( 0 ) and nitrogen ( 2 Y), and 
these are mechanically mixed in about the proportion of 23 
parts of the former to 77 parts of the latter by bulk, or 
volume, as it is called, and mixed with these are several 
rare gases which include argon (H), neon (Ae), krypton 
{Kr)j and xenon {Xey. These elements of the air are 
called its fixed constituents, because they are always 
present in it in exactly the same proportions. 

Then the air contains certain other elements and sub¬ 
stances, the foremost of which is carbon dioxide (CO2) or 
carbonic acid gas, as it used to be called, though incorrectly, 
for it has no acid properties, water vapor {H2O) and am¬ 
monia (NHs)j and these are known as its variable con¬ 
stituents. Besides these elements and substances of and 

1 The Latin name for iron is ferrum, and from this we get the words ferric 
and ferrous. The word ferric is used to show that the combining power or 
valance as it is called is lowest, and ferrous is used to show that it is highest. 

2 Pronounced ze^-non. 


AIR, THE MIRACLE-WORKER 25 

in the air there are dust, bacteriad and yeast spores floating 
around in it. 

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a colorless, odorless compound 
that is heavier than the air and is formed by the chemical 
combination of carbon (C) and oxygen ( 0 ), and it is this 
gas that is used to make soda water fizz and sparkle and 
to cause bread dough to rise. The water vapor ( H2O) con¬ 
sists of oxygen (0) and hydrogen {H) chemically combined, 
as you will see in Chapter V, while ammonia (NHs) is 
nitrogen (N) combined with hydrogen (H). 

What the Air Is Good For. Air as a physical substance 
is used at atmospheric pressure, that is, just as it is, as a 
medium for flight by both the winged animals and man, it 
is also used in the form of compressed air and in a rarefied 
state for various industrial as well as experimental purposes. 
Its first and chief use as a chemical substance is in support¬ 
ing animal life, and the second in supporting combustion, 
but in both of these cases it is only the oxygen (0) it con¬ 
tains that is used, the nitrogen {N) merely serving to 
dilute and to spread it. Air can also be liquefied by extract¬ 
ing the heat of it, and liquid air is largely used for experi¬ 
mental purposes. 

About Burning and Combustion. When any element or 
compound combines violently with oxygen (0) it generates 
heat and often gives off light, and we call this action burn¬ 
ing, and the process is known as combustion. Oxygen ( 0 ) 


1 Bacteria, which is the plural of bacterium, or microbes, as they are popu¬ 
larly called, are vegetable organisms so small that they can only be seen with 
a high-power microscope. Nearly all of them are harmless, but a few of 
them are the cause of various diseases. 


26 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


then, supports combustion, but while it will combine with 
other elements to make them burn it will not, strange as it 
may seem, burn itself, and it is well it will not, for other¬ 
wise the world would have been consumed in the making. 

The reason, then, that you have to supply air in large 
quantities to make fuel burn is to give the hydrogen (H) 
and carbon (C) in it plenty of oxygen ( 0 ) to combine with, 
and this is why you blow on or fan a freshly started fire to 
make it burn, and have a chimney to give the stove, fire¬ 
place, or furnace, a draft. 

What Rusting, or Oxidation Is. When an element or a 
substance unites slowly with oxygen (0), the action is called 
rusting, or oxidation. Here are some simple experiments 
which show how iron {Fe) and other metals rust. 

Experiment to Show how Iron Rusts. Take a piece of 
iron {Fe) and clean it well, so that there will be no grease on 
it, or you can file it so that it will expose a clean surface, 
and then lay it on a damp cloth in the open air. Let it re¬ 
main over night, and you will then find that the surface of it 
will be covered with a reddish powder. The iron {Fe) has 
combined with the oxygen (0) of the air and formed what 
we ordinarily call rust, but the chemical name of which is 
ferric oxide {FefJi), and this is sold as rouge and Venetian 
red. 

Experiment to Show that other Metals Rust. Nearly all 
the other metals will rust when they are exposed to oxygen 
( 0 ), but not nearly so quickly as iron {Fe), and so instead 
of saying that they rust we say that they tarnish. Lead 
{Ph) and zinc {Zn) will rust in air at ordinary tempera¬ 
tures, but the change is very slow. 


AIR, THE MIRACLE-WORKER 


27 


Put a small piece of lead (Pb) into a porcelain crucible, 
set it on a stand and place a lighted alcohol lamp, or a Bun¬ 
sen burner, under it, as shown in Fig. 37; when the lead is 
melted, stir it with an iron wire and you will soon see a 
murky yellowish powder appear on top of it; and as you 
continue to stir in the oxygen (0)—for this is what you are 
really doing—more of the lead is changed into rust, which 



Fig. 37.— Apparatus for Making Fig. 38.—Apparatus to Show that 

Lead and Tin Rust. Air is Used when Iron Rusts. 


is chemically called lead oxide {PhO). Now melt a piece 
of tin {Sn) and stir it in the same way, and a white power, 
which is tin oxide {SnO), will be formed. 

Experiment to Show that Air is Used Up when Iron 
Rusts. This experiment shows that air, or rather the 
oxygen ( 0 ) of the air, is used up when iron {Fe) rusts. 




















28 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


Take a test tube and dampen the inside surface of it; now 
put some very fine iron {Fe) filings into it and turn the tube 
over and over until the filings stick to the damp surface; 
this done, invert the tube, that is, turn it with the open 
end down, and set it in a saucer of water, as shown in 

Fig. 3 ^- 

The first thing that takes place is that the weight of the 
atmosphere, or outside air, on the surface of the water ( H2O) 
in the saucer presses down on it and this forces it up in the 
tube a little and presses the air that is in the tube into 
closer contact with the particles of iron {Fe). The oxygen 
(0) of the air in the tube makes the damp particles rust 
and it is thus used up; this leaves more space in the tube 
so that the weight of the outside air on the water {H2O) in 
the saucer presses it still farther up the tube. 

In the course of an hour or two, so much of the oxygen 
(0) in the tube will be used up that the water {H2O) will 
have reached a height of about yi of the length of the tube. 
If, now, you will examine the tube, you will see that some 
of the particles of iron have taken on a brick-colored hue, 
and this is due to the rust that has formed on the surface 
of them. 

All the particles would rust away if enough air could be 
supplied to the tube to supply the necessary oxygen (0) to 
them. The reason that only of the tube is taken up by 
the oxygen (0) is, obviously, because the other ^ is taken 
up by the nitrogen (A^), which is not a very active gas. 

How Slow Oxidation Causes Decay. Metals are by no 
means the only elements and substances that are rusted by 
oxygen (0); vegetable and animal matter are likewise 


AIR, THE MIRACLE-WORKER 


29 


affected by it, but in these cases the oxidation is called 
decay, though the chemical action and the products formed 
are the same as those produced by burning. 

When an animal inhales air, its lungs extract the oxygen 
(0) from it and deliver it to the blood, the red corpuscles 
of which carry it to all the tissues of its body. On coming 
in contact with its food that has been eaten, it oxidizes it 
and forms carbon dioxide (CO2) and water with the 

evolution of considerable heat. The blood returns the car¬ 
bon dioxide (CO2) to the lungs, whence it is exhaled. The 
water {H2O) is carried off through the kidneys and the 
pores, while the heat which is set up is used to warm the 
body. 

The opposite process to oxidation is called reduction, and 
just as oxidation is the result of oxygen (0) combining with 
a substance, so reduction is the result of hydrogen ( H) com¬ 
bining with a substance. In other words, when oxygen ( 0 ) 
combines with a substance, or hydrogen {H) is removed 
from it, it becomes oxidized, and when hydrogen {H) com¬ 
bines with a substance or oxygen (0) is removed from it, it 
is reduced. 

What Spontaneous Combustion Is. It is possible for a 
slow oxidation to become so accelerated, or quickened, that 
enough heat will be generated to make a fire, and this kind 
of an action is called spontaneous combustion. The way in 
which this takes place will be clear when you know that 
any body that can be oxidized, as for instance iron {Fe), 
will set free exactly the same amount of heat when it com¬ 
bines with oxygen (0), no matter how slow or how fast the 
combining action takes place. 


30 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


When oxygen ( 0 ) combines with a substance slowly and 
the latter has plenty of air around it to conduct away the 
heat as fast as it is developed, there can be no excess of it 
stored up. But if the substance contains hydrogen {H) 
and carbon (C), that is, if it is inflammable, such as oil- 
soaked rags, and enough air can reach these rags to set up 
oxidation, but not enough to carry away the heat as fast 
as it is generated, then the latter will be stored up until 
the temperature reaches a high-enough point to cause the 
rags to burst into a blaze. 

Substances that Oxygen Will Not Affect. There are some 
substances that oxygen (0) has no effect on and, hence, 
these cannot burn. While iron {Fe) oxidizes rapidly in 
moist air, it does not oxidize in dry air, and it is therefore 
largely used for cooking utensils and other purposes. 

Gold {Au)j silver (Ag) and platinum (Pt) will not oxidize 
in air, and they are in consequence widely used in the arts, 
the first two being especially useful for coinage and for 
jewelry, while the latter, which has a high melting point and 
is not affected by acids, ^ is useful in certain chemical opera¬ 
tions. 

How to Make Ozone. As early as 1785 Marum observed 
that wherever the sparks of an electrical machine appeared 
a fresh, penetrating odor, something like that of very dilute 
chlorine (C/) was produced. In 1840 Schonbein discovered 
that the odor was due to a gas, and this is called ozone (O3) 
from a Greek work which means-to smell. 

Ozone (O3) is made by adding an extra atom of oxygen 
(0) to a molecule of oxygen (0), which is formed of two 

1 Except aqua regia, see Chapter XII. 


AIR, THE MIRACLE-WORKER 


31 


atoms of oxygen (0), and this you will find described and 
pictured in Chapter X. There are several ways by which 
oxygen (0) can be changed into ozone (O3), but the easiest 
way to do it on a small scale is to set up an electric spark, 
and this you can do with either a Leyden jar or a spark coil. 
Ozone (O3) has powerful oxidizing properties and it is there¬ 
fore a good bleaching agent and disinfectant. 

How to Test for Ozone. Put i part of pure potassium 
iodide (XT’), 10 parts of starch (CeXioOs), and 200 parts 
of water {H2O) into a beaker and boil them together for 3 
or 4 minutes, and they will form a paste. Spread this on 
a sheet of writing paper evenly, let it dry, and then cut it 
into strips, and you will have Schonbein’s ozone test paper; 
place these strips together and wrap them up in waxed 
paper so that the air cannot act on them. If now you will 
take out one of the strips and moisten it and then put it 
in air that contains ozone (O3), even if this is so weak you 
cannot smell it, the paper will instantly change to a blue 
color. 


CHAPTER III. 


EXPERIMENTS WITH OXYGEN, NITROGEN, AND 

CARBON DIOXIDE 

Knowing now something of the nature of air and the 
chief gases of which it is formed, the next step is to make a 
small quantity of each one and perform the experiments 
described in this chapter. Of course you do not really make 
the gases, but what you do is to separate them, either from 
the air, which, as you will remember is a mechanical mix¬ 
ture, or else from other substances with which they are 
chemically combined, and the latter is generally the easier 
way. 

EXPERIMENTS WITH OXYGEN. 

A Simple Way to Make Oxygen. With this simple appa¬ 
ratus you can make enough oxygen (0) to do some pretty 
experiments with, but, naturally, the effects are not so 
striking as where larger quantities of the gas are used. 
Put ]/2 teaspoonful of potassium chlorate (KC/O3) and 
the same amount of manganese dioxide {MnO<^ into your 
largest test tube and hold it with your test-tube holder 
over the flame of your alcohol lamp or Bunsen burner, as 
shown in Fig. 39, and very soon oxygen ( 0 ) will be set 
free. Now slowly sprinkle a little finely powdered charcoal 
(C), sulphur {S) and other substances, in turn, into the 
tube by means of a tin trough and you will get some very 
pretty effects. 


32 


OXYGEN, NITROGEN, AND CARBON DIOXIDE 33 


A Way to Make More Oxygen. To make a larger quan¬ 
tity of oxygen (0) than is possible with the apparatus 
described above, you will need a small flask with a tightly 
fitting cork in it, a ring stand, and an alcohol lamp or a 
Bunsen burner. Now take a piece of glass tubing about 
a foot long, heat it in the flame of your lamp, and bend it 


Fig. 39. —How to Make and Experiment with a Little Oxygen. 



to the shape shown in Fig. 40. This done, make a hole 
in the cork and push the short end of the tube into it. 

Next take a large cork and bore a J^-inch hole half-way 
through it from top to bottom, and bore a p^-inch hole 
through the side of it until it meets the first one, as shown 
by the broken line in Fig. 41. Push the free end of the 












34 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


tube into this latter hole and set the cork in a glass finger- 
bowl or other dish. Fill the bowl with water {H2O) so 
that it covers the top of the cork, then fill a large test tube 
with water {H2O), invert it, and set it on the cork over the 
hole. 




Fig. 42. —The Oxygen Apparatus Complete. 

Finally, put i ounce of potassium chlorate (KClOs) and 
I ounce of manganese dioxide {MnO^ into the flask, then 
fit the cork in tight and set it in the ring of the stand with 

























OXYGEN, NITROGEN, AND CARBON DIOXIDE 35 


your lamp or burner under it, as shown in Fig. 42. Light 
the lamp and the heat will soon act on the manganese 
dioxide {MnO^ and set the oxygen (0) of it free, so that it 
will pass through the delivery tube and up through the 
water to the top of the test tube. As it gathers there, it 
will push the water down, and in this way you will know 
how much oxygen there is in the tube. 

How the Experiment Works. When the mixture is 
heated, the potassium chlorate (JYC/O3), which contains 
39 per cent of oxygen (0), gives up the latter and no action 
whatever takes place in the manganese dioxide {MnO^, 
But if you heat the potassium chlorate (iCC/Os) without 
having the manganese dioxide {MnO<^ in contact with it, 
you will have to bring it to a very much higher temperature 
before it will be decomposed and liberate its oxygen (0). 

Whenever the addition of a substance causes a chemical 
reaction to take place more rapidly, yet the substance is 
found at the end of the reaction apparently unchanged, the 
substance is called a catalytic agent and the process is called 
catalysis. 

The Self-Lighting Match. Place a large test tube over 
the delivery tube of your oxygen (0) generator and when 
it is full of oxygen (0) remove it and hold it with its mouth 
down. Light a match around which a wire has been 
twisted, as shown in Fig. 43, and blow it out, leaving only 
a glowing spark. Now, if you insert the smoldering match 
by aid of the wire into the tube of oxygen (0), the match 
will at once ignite again and blaze with more brilliancy 
than before, as in Fig. 44. 

How the Experiment Works. The air, as we know, is 


36 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


oxygen (0) diluted with about three times its volume of 
nitrogen {N). The number of particles of oxygen ( 0 ) in a 
given volume of air is, therefore, much less than in the 
same volume of pure oxygen ( 0 ). When combustion takes 



The Wire on the Match. The Self-Lighting Match. 


place in pure oxygen (0), the heat that is liberated is ex¬ 
pended in raising the temperature of the oxygen (0) alone, 
and the rapidity of the combustion depends chiefly on the 
temperature of the oxygen (0). 

The Flashing Charcoal Pill. For this and the following 
experiments use a beaker, or a glass tumbler will do, instead 
of the test tube, so that you can have a larger quantity of 




















OXYGEN, NITROGEN, AND CARBON DIOXIDE 37 


oxygen ( 0 ) to work with. Take a bit of charcoal, which is 
practically pure carbon (C), made of bark, or very soft wood, 
about the size of a pea and fasten the end of a bent wire 
to it to form a handle. 

Soak a bit of cotton in alcohol {CHzOH) and wrap this 
around the charcoal pellet. Now light the cotton and hold 
it in the Ibeaker or tumbler of oxygen (0), and the cotton 
will quickly burn away and the incandescent charcoal (C) 
will throw out flashes like an arc light. 

How the Experiment Works. When carbon (C) burns 
in more oxygen (0) than it needs to support combustion, 
carbon dioxide (CO2) is formed. You can prove this by 

moistening a piece of blue lit- 
litmus paper and, after the 
charcoal pellet has burned out, 
pressing this paper against 
the inside of the beaker, or 
tumbler. It will turn red. 
This is because when carbon 
dioxide (CO2) is dissolved in 
water it makes carbonic acid 
(//2CO3), though neither car¬ 
bon dioxide (CO2) nor water 
{H2O) has any acid property 
in itself. 

The Scintillating Watch- 
Spring. Take a piece of 
watch spring {Fe) about 6 
inches long and straighten 
it out by running it between 



Fig. 45.—The Scintillating Watch- 
Spring. 
















38 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


your fingers. Wrap a bit of cotton which you have 
moistened in alcohol (C H^P H) around one end and light 
it. Then hold the steel spring in a test tube or a beaker 
of oxygen ( 0 ) and it will ignite and, once started, will 
burn with great brilliance, scintillating beautifully, as 
shown in Fig. 45. At the same time incandescent drops of 
dross will fall and a reddish vapor will condense on the sur¬ 
face of the test tube or beaker. 



Fig. 46. —Filling the Bladder with Oxygen. 


How the Experiment Works. When iron (Fe) burns in 
oxygen (0) they combine and form ferrous oxide or oxide 
of iron {FeO) as it is called. This substance is a neutral 
compound, that is, not acid nor yet alkaline, and this you 
can easily prove with a piece of litmus paper. 

The Strange Action of Oxygen on Phosphorus. Connect 
the free end of the delivery tube of your oxygen-making 
apparatus, see Fig. 46, with the tube in a toy rubber balloon, 
or a bladder, then generate enough oxygen (0) to inflate it, 













OXYGEN, NITROGEN, AND CARBON DIOXIDE 39 


* as shown in Fig. 4.6, and close up the mouth of the tube with 
a bit of wax to keep the gas from escaping. This done, 
put a few pieces of red phosphorus (P), each about the size 
of a buckshot, in a small beaker and set this in a porcelain 
bowl, or other deep vessel; now fill both of them full of 
boiling water {H2O) and remove the wax from the mouth 
of the tube and place the tube in the beaker, as shown in 



Fig. 47. —Directing a Stream of Oxygen on Phosphorus. 


Fig. 47. The phosphorus (P) will ignite and burn with 
exceeding brilliancy under the water (H2O). 

How the Experiment Works. The phosphorus (P) com¬ 
bines with the oxygen (0) that is directed upon it, and the 
reason it will burn under water {H2O) is by virtue of the 
fact that while the hot water {H2O) melts it, it will not dis¬ 
solve it, and coupled to this it has an extraordinary affinity 
for oxygen (0). 









40 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


Note. — In making this experiment, be sure to use red 
phosphorus instead of yellow or white phosphorus^ as it is 
not poisonous like the two latter kinds. Also it is a good 
plan to place a sheet of wire gauze over the bowl while 
the experiment is in progress. 

How to Make an Oxy-Calcium Light. This is a very 
dazzling light which is also called a lime-light^ because a 
piece of lime is used in its production, and a Drummond 
%///, after the man who invented it. You can make one 
on a small scale easily enough, for all you have to do is to 
drill a Vfe-inch hole in a board and set the end of a stiff 
wire into it, the height of which is the same as that of your 



alcohol lamp. Now take a piece of quicklime, that is, cal¬ 
cium oxide (CaO), and set it on the free end of the wire 
support so that it will be in a line with the flame. 

The next step is to make enough oxygen ( 0 ) to fill the 
toy balloon or bladder with, then press down on the latter 
and direct the stream of gas on the flame so that they will 
both strike the piece of lime as shown in Fig. 48. The 
flame thus produced will be very hot and it will heat the 








OXYGEN, NITROGEN, AND CARBON DIOXIDE 41 


lime to incandescence at the point where it strikes it, and 
■ the result is a light of dazzling brightness. 

How the Oxy-Calcium Light Works. The chief element 

« 

in alcohol {CH^OH) that burns is hydrogen (iJ). Now 
when oxygen ( 0 ) and hydrogen {H) are mixed together at 
ordinary temperatures no chemical action takes place; if 
you seal the mixed gases in a tube and keep this tube heated 
to 300 degrees for several days, a small amount of the gases 
will combine to form water {H2O).' At 500 degrees they 
will combine, though still very slowly; but if you raise the 
temperature to 700 degrees they will combine instantly and 
develop an intense heat. Since the alcohol flame is hotter 
than 700 degrees, the oxygen ( 0 ) and the hydrogen {H) 
combine easily. 

How Sulphur Burns in Oxygen. Take a bit of sulphur 
(5) the size of a pea, wrap one end of an iron wire around 
it, light it, and hold it in a beaker of oxygen ( 0 ). The sul¬ 
phur is) bums with a wonderful scintillating flame that is 
violet-colored; the result of the combustion is that sul¬ 
phurous acid {H 2 S 0 ^j nitrogen (A) and potassium sul¬ 
phate {K2S0^ are set free and the beaker is filled with the 
fumes of these substances. 

EXPERIMENTS WITH NITROGEN. 

There are several ways to obtain nitrogen (A), and 
among these are to burn phosphoms (P) in air, to pass air 
over finely divided copper (Cz^), and by the evaporation of 
liquid air. In the first two processes the oxygen ( 0 ) of the 
air is taken up by the phosphorus (P) and the copper (Cw), 
and this leaves the nitrogen (A) behind. For the produc- 


42 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


tion of large amounts of nitrogen (N), liquid air is allowed 
to evaporate. The oxygen ( 0 ) passes off first because it is 
the lighter gas and the nitrogen (N) is left behind. 

A Simple Way to Make Nitrogen. Fill a soup-plate half 
full of water {H2O), then light a piece of paper and place it 
in a beaker, or a tumbler, which you invert and set in the 
water {H2O), as shown in Fig. 49. You will soon see that 


zO) 


Fig. 49.—A Simple way to Make Nitrogen. 

the flame of the burning paper grows more and more feeble, 
and that the water {H2O) rises higher and higher in the 
beaker or tumbler, until it is considerably above the level 
of that in the soup plate. When the paper will no longer 
burn, you will have considerable nitrogen {N) in the glass. 

How the Experiment Works. When the paper bums, it 
consumes the oxygen (0) in the beaker or tumbler, and this 
produces a partial vacuum in it. The pressure of the out¬ 
side air on the water {H2O) in the soup-plate is now greater 
than that of the air in the beaker, or tumbler, and conse¬ 
quently it forces the water (H2O) up and into the latter. 

The oxygen ( 0 ) in the beaker, or tumbler, combines with 
the carbon (C) in the paper and forms carbon dioxide 
{CO2); this gas is heavier than the air and so falls on the 



















OXYGEN, NITROGEN, AND CARBON DIOXIDE 43 


surface of the water, which absorbs it; hence the gas that 
remains in the tumbler is nitrogen (N). 

Another Easy Way to Make Nitrogen. Pour a table¬ 
spoonful of alcohol (CHsPH) into a little tin pill-box, or an 
iron or porcelain dish, having a diameter of 13^ or 2 inches, 
and set this in a wine-glass. This done, stand the wine¬ 
glass in a soup-plate filled with water Now light 

the alcohol {CHzOH), and then set a beaker, or a tumbler 
or a small fruit-jar over them, as shown in Fig. 50. 



Fig. 50. — ^A Better Way to Make a Little Nitrogen. 

How the Experiment Works. As soon as the alcohol 
{CHjDH) is ignited,the oxygen ( 0 ) of the air in the beaker, 
or other vessel, combines with the carbon (C) of it just as 
it did with the carbon (C) of the paper in the foregoing 
experiment and forms carbon dioxide (CO2). The phe¬ 
nomenon of the water {H2O) rising in the beaker, or other 
vessel, is due to the same causes as described in the experi¬ 
ment above. 

How to Make a Larger Amount of Nitrogen. For experi¬ 
mental purposes you will need considerably more nitrogen 
(i\^) than either of the preceding processes will give you. 
To make a larger amount, place a very little dry red phos- 




















44 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


phorus (P) in a small porcelain dish and set it on top of a 
wine glass; now stand this in a soup-plate filled with water 
(P2O) and ignite the phosphorus (P) with the end of a wire 
which you have heated a bright red in the flame of your 
lamp or burner. Having done this, set a glass jar—a pint 
fruit-jar will do—over the burning phosphorus (P), as 
shown in Fig. 51. When the phosphorus (P) has burned 
out, the jar will then contain only nitrogen (N). 

How the Experiment Works. As soon as the phosphorus 



Fig. 51. —How to Make Nitrogen for Experimental Purposes. 

(P) begins to burn, the air in the jar expands because of 
the heat that it develops, but very soon the air contracts, 
for the oxygen ( 0 ) unites with the phosphorus (P) and 
forms a white smoke which is phosphorus trioxide (P4O6); 
this compound falls to the surface of the water (JT2O), 
combines with it and so disappears, thus leaving only the 
nitrogen (A), which is in a tolerably pure state. 

The Self-Extinguishing Match. This is the complemen¬ 
tary experiment to the one explained under the caption of 
‘‘A Self-Lighting Match.Twist a copper wire around a 
match, as shown in Fig. 43, lift the jar of nitrogen (N) up 



























OXYGEN, NITROGEN, AND CARBON DIOXIDE 45 

from the soup-plate, then light the match and let it get to 
burning well. When this is done, put it up into the jar, 
and you will see how quickly the flame will be extinguished. 
This experiment shows that nitrogen {N) will not support 
combustion. 

What Else the Experiment Shows. The fact that the 
match will not burn in nitrogen (N) does not at all show 
that it is a poison. While nitrogen (N) will not support 
combustion, we take into our lungs a little more than three 
times as much of it as we do oxygen (0) and with no harmful 
effect. But carbon dioxide (CO2), cyanogen (C2iV’2), and 
several other gases will kill, not only because they cannot 
support combustion, but because they are poisonous. 

EXPERIMENTS WITH CARBON DIOXIDE. 

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a wonder gas, and many strange 
and striking effects can be produced with it which are 
worthy of a place on a magician’s program. In this respect 
it is quite unlike nitrogen (iY), which is sluggish and, in 
consequence, permits but very few experiments to be per¬ 
formed directly with it. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a color¬ 
less and odorless gas and it is considerably heavier than the 
air, and for this reason when you perform experiments with 
it you can handle it just as though it were a liquid like 
water {H2O), that is, the vessels need not be corked up, nor 
covered over, nor inverted, to keep it in them. 

How to Show there is Carbon Dioxide in the Air. Fill a 
clean saucer or a small flat, porcelain dish with clear lime- 
water, which is calcium hydroxide (Ca(OZZ')2), and this you 
can make by pouring some water on quicklime, which is 


46 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


calcium oxide (CaO). Then set the dish of lime-water in 
the open air, and it will soon be covered with a film of 
calcium carbonate (CaCOs) the common name of which is 
carbonate of lime. If you will now bre^k the film, it will 
fall to the bottom of the dish and the operation can be re¬ 
peated until all the quicklime {CaO) in the solution is 
changed into calcium carbonate {CaCOf). 

How the Experiment Works. That carbon dioxide {COf) 
is present in the air is evident, since this gas must combine 
with the calcium hydroxide {Ca{OH)f) to form calcium 
carbonate {CaCOf). Chalk, limestone, marble, egg-shells, 
oyster shells, coral and pearls, and calcite and Iceland spar 
are all formed of calcium carbonate {CaCOf). 

To Show that You Inhale Oxygen and Exhale Carbon 
Dioxide. You can easily show that after you inhale oxygen 
(0) you exhale carbon dioxide (CO2) by means of this very 
simple experiment. Fill a tumbler about three-fourths 
full of lime-water, that is, calcium hydroxide {Ca{OH)^\ 
then take a good deep breath (oxygen (0)) and blow through 
a straw into the lime-water, as shown in Fig. 52. The 
clean lime-water will be made murky by the formation of 
calcium carbonate {CaCOf) in it, and for the same reason 
as explained under the foregoing caption of “How the Ex¬ 
periment Works.” 

A better way to make the experiment is to take a wide- 
mouth bottle and fit it with a cork and two bent glass tubes, 
as shown in Fig. 53. Pour in enough lime-water, that is, 
calcium hydroxide {Ca{0H)2)j to half fill the bottle, 
then put the short tube in your mouth and draw in. The 
outside air will then pass through the long tube and up 


OXYGEN, NITROGEN, AND CARBON DIOXIDE 47 

through the lime-water {CaiO which will remain clear. 
Now repeat the operation, but this time blow through the 
long tube and the lime-water {Ca{OH)<^ will get murky, 



Fig. 52. —A Simple Way to Show Carbon Dioxide. 


just as it did in the previous experiment, and for the same 
reason. 

How to Make Carbon Dioxide. In the experiments 
above, it has been shown that chalk, limestone,and marble 
are all forms of calcium carbonate (CaCOs) and hence 
these substances contain carbon dioxide (CO2). Now all 
you have to do to make a little of this gas is to put some 
powdered chalk, limestone, or marble into a test tube half 













48 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


full of water {H2O), and then add a few drops of hydro¬ 
chloric acid {HCl) to it, as shown in Fig. 54. Instantly 
there will be a commotion of the liquid set up by the pro¬ 
duction of numerous small bubbles of gas which rise to the 



surface and then break, and these are formed of carbon 
dioxide (CO2). 

How the Experiment Works. While carbon dioxide (CO2) 
is given off in the above reaction, calcium chloride (CaC/2) 
and water {H^O) are left behind. 

Note. — Do not use blackboard crayon for the experi¬ 
ment, as this is usually made of gypsum, that is calcium 




































OXYGEN, NITROGEN, AND CARBON DIOXIDE 49 


sulphate (Ca6'04.2^20) and not of chalk, which is calcium 
carbonate (CaCOs). Since carbon dioxide (CO2) is a gas 
that is heavier than air, it will stay in the tube or other 
vessel when the latter is right side up, just as though you 
had water (^20) in it. 

A Better Way to Make Carbon Dioxide. Where you 
want to make a small amount of this gas for experimental 


—A Simple Way to Make Carbon Dioxide. 

purposes, take a 4“ObLnce or 8-ounce, wide-mouth bottle 
with a tight-fitting cork; now bore a hole in the latter and 
push a piece of glass tube with a K-inch or S/^-inch bore— 
or you can use a test tube from which you have cut the 
closed end—through it; into the mouth of this fit another 
cork and push the short end of a bent glass tube with a 
inch bore through it, all of which is shown in Fig. 55. To 
make the joints gas-tight, put some melted paraffin on them. 






















50 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


Use in suitable quantities the same materials called for in 
connection with Fig. 54. 

Where you want a still larger amount of the gas, use a 
pint jar and fit the cork with a glass funnel tube that is 
long enough to reach from the outside to the bottom of the 


GLASS 

TUBE. 

COR K 


(HCl) 



POWOEREO 

MARBLE 

(Ca CO3) 


Fig. 55.—A Better Way to Make Carbon Dioxide. 


jar, and a delivery tube bent as shown in Fig. 56. If you 
will use powdered marble (CaCOs) instead of chalk you 
will get a supply of nearly pure carbon dioxide (CO2). This 
gas is heavier than air, and has, therefore, a tendency to 
stay in the bottom of the jar; but as it is set free from the 




















































OXYGEN, NITROGEN, AND CARBON DIOXIDE 51 


marble in large quantities it is soon under pressure and this 
drives it out of the delivery tube. 

To Show that Carbon Dioxide Will Not Support Com¬ 
bustion. Fill a wide-mouth bottle, or a glass jar, with car- 



Fig. 56.—To Make a Larger Amount of Carbon Dioxide. 

bon dioxide (CO2) and lower a lighted candle into it, and 
the flame will be extinguished. You can do this experi¬ 
ment as a trick, for to the average person the bottle, or jar, 
is, to all intents, an empty one; now lower half a dozen 
lighted candles into the jar one after the other, and the 









































52 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


flame of each one will go out as it reaches the surface of the 
gas. The effect is most mysterious. 

Moreover, the smoke from the candle when it goes out 
does not rise into the air as it is expected to do in the natural 
order of things but, instead, it floats on top of the unseen 
gas in a strange and uncanny way, very like a London fog, 
and if you shake the jar it will set up miniature waves in 
imitation of the old ocean itself. The reason the smoke 
clings to the surface of the gas is because it easily mixed 
with the latter and this holds it down. 

To Show that Carbon Dioxide Destroys Life. Carbon 
dioxide (CO2) is different from nitrogen (Y') in that it kills 
not only because it cannot support combustion, and, hence, 
life, but by virtue of the fact that it is poisonous. And yet 
as high as 6 per cent of it can be breathed without harm 
when it is mixed with the oxygen ( 0 ) and nitrogen (N) of 
the air. If you are a naturalist as well as a chemist you 
can kill insects for your specimens and preserve them in 
their original form and brilliancy of color by simply putting 
them into a jar of carbon dioxide (CO2). 

A Magical Experiment with Air, Carbon Dioxide, and 
Oxygen. Take three pint glass jars and let the first one 
contain ordinary air, fill the second one with carbon dioxide 
(CO2), and the third one with oxygen (0), and invert the 
latter one until you are ready to do the trick. Now wrap 
a wire around a piece of candle, light it, and then lower it 
into the jar of air first. Of course, the flame will continue 
to give its light. Now lower it into the jar of carbon diox¬ 
ide (CO2), and the flame will mysteriously go out; draw it 
out of the jar before the wick cools off and dip it into the 


OXYGEN, NITROGEN, AND CARBON DIOXIDE 53 


jar of oxygen (O), and it instantly relights and burns with 
a dazzling light. Since all the jars are evidently quite 
empty, the average spectator will be at a loss to account 



Fig. 57.—A Magical Experiment. 

for the different actions that take place. The effects are 
shown in Fig. 57. 

To Show that Carbon Dioxide Has Weight. This is a 
good magical experiment, too, and for it you need a couple 
of pint glass jars, one of which you have secretly filled with 
carbon dioxide (CO2). Now set a piece of lighted candle 
in the bottom of the other jar and then pour the contents 

















































































54 


rHE BOY CHEMIST 


of the first jar, which is invisible to the spectators but as 
real as if it were water, into the second jar, as shown in 
Fig. 58. The candle will be mysteriously extinguished. 

To Separate a Candle from Its Flame. Light a candle 
and lower it into a jar of carbon dioxide {CO2) far enough 



so that the tip of the wick is about inch helow the surface 
of the gas. The flame, strange as it may seem, will keep on 
burning above the surface of the gas although it is entirely 
cut off from the wick. 























































OXYGEN, NITROGEN, AND CARBON DIOXIDE 55 


How the Experiment Works. This strange effect, which 
is shown in Fig. 59, is due to the fact that the heat 
of the wick lasts long enough to vaporize the paraffin of 
which the candle is made for a few moments after it is sub¬ 
merged in the gas, the hot vapor from it ascends through 
the latter, where it is supplied with oxygen (0) from the air. 

The Levitation of a Soap Bubble. Here is an experiment 
that would do credit to and gain renown for a Hindu magi¬ 
cian. Set a large meat-platter or a tray on the table and 



fill it to overflowing with carbon dioxide (CO2). Now blow 
a large soap bubble with a clay pipe in the ordinary way, 
hold it over the platter and let it drop on the surface of the 
gas that fills it. On striking the layer of carbon dioxide 
(CO2) it will bounce up and down on the latter like a rubber 
ball on the sidewalk, and when it finally does come to rest 
it looks to the spectators as though it were suspended above 
the platter, or tray, which, of course, it is by the layer of 
carbon dioxide (CO2). The experiment is shown in Fig. 60. 
















CHAPTER IV, 


THE WIZARDRY OF WATER 

The liquid which we call water (// 2 O) is as necessary to 
the existence of living things as air is. Like air, water ( H2O) 
is formed of two gases, but, differing from air, these are 
chemically combined and form a liquid nearly 800 times 
heavier than the former. Water ( H2O) covers three-fourths of 
the earth’s surface, the oceans taking up the larger part of it, 
and soundings have been made which show that at various 
points it is more than 5 miles deep. As you have seen in 
Chapter IV, the air has a large amount of water {H2O) in 
it in the form of vapor, and the so-called dry land is saturated 
with it, while both plants and animals are made up of from 
50 to 75 per cent of it, hence without it life could not exist. 

Some Characteristics of Water. Water {H2O) when 
pure is colorless in small amounts, tasteless, and odor¬ 
less, and in this state it is a non-conductor of electricity. 
The water {TI2O) of oceans, lakes, and rivers has a blue or 
green color,and this is due to the natural color of the gases 
of which it is formed, the refraction and reflection of the 
light that strikes it,and to the mineral and other substances 
in it. 

Like other liquids, water (H2O) is almost incompressible 
and it remains a liquid at temperatures between 32 degrees 
and 212 degrees of FahrenheWs thermometer. At 32 de- 

56 


THE WIZARDRY OF WATER 


57 


grees it freezes into a solid which we call ice^ and at 212 
degrees it boils and passes into the air as a vapor which we 
call steam. To reach this form it expands 1700 times in 
volume, or bulk, which means that i pint of water will 
make 1700 pints of steam. 

What Water is Made of. Water {H2O) is formed of two 
elements and these are hydrogen {H) and oxygen (0), and, 
as you know, both of these are gases. To form water 
{H2O) they must be chemically combined in the propor¬ 
tions of 2 parts of hydrogen {H) to i part of oxygen (0), 
that is, H2O, by volume, or bulk, or in the proportion of 
2 parts of hydrogen {H) and 16 parts of oxygen (0) by 
weight, which is the same thing. These measures are 
easily proved to be correct both by analyzing, that is, de¬ 
composing, water (5^20), and by measuring and weighing the 
gases separately, and also by taking these gases in the 
above proportions and chemically combining them, upon 
which synthetic^ water '(H2O) results. How to analyze 
water {H2O) and how to produce it synthetically will be 
explained in the next chapter. 

What Water Is Good for. Water {H2O) is not only nece¬ 
ssary to drink, to bathe in, and for the construction of living 
plants and animals and their maintenance, but it has many 
other uses as well. For instance, it is one of the chemist’s 
allies in that it is a great solvent, for more substances can be 
dissolved in it than in any other liquid, hence, it is always 
used first when a substance is to be analyzed and it forms 
the basis of many solutions. Because it cannot be com- 

1 A synthetic compound is one that you have built up of the same elements 
as those used by nature. 


58 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


pressed, it is used in hydraulic presses and other machinery, 
while in the form of ice it is largely used as a cooling medium, 
and in the form of steam it has a wide application as a 
power, or prime mover. 

How to Purify Water. Water (H2O) is never found ' 
pure in nature; rain water (H2O) is the purest, but even 
that has foreign matter in it. In making chemical experi¬ 
ments where water {H2O) is to be used,it must be pure or 
the results may not be at all what you expect them to be. 
Now water {H2O) can be purified by several methods, and 



BEFORE CREASING 



after creasing 


Fig. 61.—How the Filter Paper is Creased. 

chief among those are by filtration, by boiling, and by dis¬ 
tillation. Where water {H2O) is filtered, only the larger 
particles of matter in it are removed. Boiling kills all of 
the germs in it, and much of the suspended matter will fall 
to the bottom when it is allowed to settle, so that for ordi¬ 
nary experiments you can use boiled water (fl'20), which 
should then be filtered. The only way to get pure water 
{H2O), though, is to distil it. 

How to Filter Water. To filter water (H2O) in order to 
get rid of any solid particles in a solution you need a glass 
funnel, as shown in Fig. 17 in Chapter I. The filter paper 




THE WIZARDRY OF WATER 


59 


comes in round sheets and you can fit it into the funnel by 
foldiug a sheet of it over once, then again, and, finally, 
again, causing it to be creased, as shown in Fig. 62. 

This done, spread the paper out flat and then make a 
cone of it, set it into the funnel and rub it along the creases 
to make it fit closely, as in Fig. 62; next, wet the paper all 
over with clean water to make it cling to the surface, and 



Fig. 62. —The Filter Paper in Fig. 63. —The Funnel in Use. 

the Funnel. 

set the funnel in the ring of a support, as in Fig. 63. Finally 
place a beaker, or a test tube under the funnel and pour 
the solution you want to filter into the latter. 

How to Boil Water. You can boil the water {H^O) in 
an ordinary teakettle, or if you only need a small amount 
of it you can use a beaker. Boiling does not remove all 
the foreign matter in the water {H2O) by any means, but 
if it has what is called temporary hardness^ which will be 
explained presently, then the mineral compounds causing 


























60 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


it will be deposited on the sides and bottom of the vessel 
and in this way are removed. It is these compounds that 
form fur in the kettle and scale in a boiler. But if the 
water ( H2O) has permanent hardness, boiling will not remove 
the compounds that cause it. 

How to Distil Water. The easiest way to get distilled 
water {H2O) for your experiments is to buy it at the drug 



Fig. 64. —How to Distil a Little Water. 


store, but I shall give you three modifications of the same 
apparatus, so that you can distil it for yourself. To distil 
a very small quantity of water (^^20),so that you can see 
clearly the exact nature of the process, all you need is two 
test tubes, a delivery pipe, an alcohol lamp, and a beaker, 
or a tumbler. 

Pour enough water {H2O) of any kind into one of the 
tubes to half fill it, then push the short end of the delivery 
tube through a cork and fit this into the neck of the test 

























THE WIZARDRY OF WATER 


61 


tube; put the other test tube into a beaker or tumbler of 
cold water {H2O) and put the other end of the delivery 
tube into this second test tube. Light the alchohol lamp 
and hold the test tube with the water {H^O) in it over the 
flame with your test-tube holder, as shown in Fig. 64, and 
let the water {H2O) boil. 



Fig. 65. —A Better Apparatus for Distilling Water. 


How the Experiment Works. As soon as the water 
{H2O) begins to boil,it will generate steam,and as this passes 
through the delivery tube it will be chilled and condensed 
into water {H2O) when it reaches the cold test tube that is 
in the beaker. 

Note. — To see that only pure water {H2O) passes over 
and that the impurities are left behind, you can dissolve 
enough cupric sulphate {CuSO^^ or copper sulphate, hlue- 
stone, or blue vitriol, as it is variously called, in the water 






































62 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


(Zr20)you are going to distil to give it a good green color, 
and you will see that this is left behind. 

To distil enough water {H2O) to make an experiment 
with, half fill a small glass flask with some water {H2O) 
and set it in the ring of your stand. Now place your lamp, 
or burner, directly under the flask, and put a beaker, or a 
tumbler, under the end of the delivery tube, as shown in 



Fig. 66 . —An Apparatus for Distilling Water on a Large Scale. 


Fig. 65. This done, light the lamp and when the water 
{H2O) begins to boil and to generate steam, the latter will 
pass through the tube; when it does so, let some cold water 
(j!T20)fall on the tube by means of a sponge, and the steam 
{H2O) will then condense into water {H2O). The better 
to aid the process of condensationy wrap a cloth round the 
tube and let the water fall on it. Very soon pure water 
{E2O) will flow out of the tube and into the beaker. 
















THE WIZARDRY OF WATER 


63 


An apparatus for distilling water in large quantities is 
shown in Fig. 66. It consists of a retort, with a delivery 
tube which passes through a larger tube sealed to the former 
at both ends, so that as much of the surface of the delivery 
tube as possible will be exposed to the cooling water {H2O). 
A stream of cold water {H2O) is made to flow into the cool¬ 
ing tube at the bottom and to flow out of it at the top, as 
warm water {H2O) always rises when circulating. 

Tests for the Purity of Distilled Water. The first proofs 
of the purity of water {H2O) 
are that it has no color, no 
odor, and no taste, and that 
it is perfectly clear and trans¬ 
parent. Farther, it must not 
change the colors of indica¬ 
tors, such as Htmus paper 
and phenolphthalein 
{C2qHi/P^, and, finally, when slowly evaporated it must 
not leave any solid matter behind. How to make a test for 
each of these will be explained farther along. 

How to Raise the Temperature of Water. Pour enough 
distilled water {H2O) into a test tube to half fill it, then 
hold it by the mouth and place the closed end against your 
cheek, which will give you a rough idea of the temperature 
of the water {H2O). Now put 3^ teaspoonful of magnesium 
sulphate {MgSO^^ or Epsom salts, as it is commonly called, 
in the tube, hold your finger, or thumb, over the mouth of 
it, as shown in Fig. 67, and shake it until the salts have com¬ 
pletely dissolved. Again hold the tube to your cheek and 
you will find that it is considerably warmer than it was before. 



Fig. 67. —How to Raise the 
Temperature of Water. 











64 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


How the Experiment Works. Many compounds be¬ 
sides magnesium sulphate {MgSO^ have what is called a 
positive heat of solution^ and when they come in contact 
with water {H2O) they give up their latent heat to it. 

How to Lower the Temperature of Water. Pour enough 
distilled water {H2O) into a test tube to make it half full 
and hold it to your cheek to get an idea of its temperature 
as before. This time put H teaspoonful of ammonium 
chloride (NHiCl), or sal ammoniac^ as it is more often 
called, in the tube and shake it until the compound is com¬ 
pletely dissolved. Again hold the tube to your cheek and 
you will find that it is considerably colder than it was before. 

How the Experiment Works. Many compounds besides 
ammonium chloride {NH^^Cl) have what is known as a 
negative heat of solution when they are brought into contact 
with water {H2O), and, hence, they absorb the heat of the 
latter. 

How to Make Ice. The principle of extracting the heat 
of a compound by adding a substance that has a negative 
heat of solution is used in a practical way in making ice¬ 
cream. In this case, however, sodium chloride {NaCl), 
which is common salt, is mixed with cracked ice and this 
is packed around the can containing the cream to be frozen. 
As the ice melts and the salt dissolves, they extract the heat 
of the water {H2O) thus formed, and a temperature still 
lower than that of the melting ice alone will be produced. 

To make a little ice (S'20),all you have to do is to pour 
enough water (fi'20), distilled or otherwise, into a test tube 
to half fill it, then put it into a beaker, or a tumbler, and 
fill this up with a mixture of finely cracked ice {B2O) and. 


THE WIZARDRY OF WATER 


65 


soldium chloride {NaCl), as shown in Fig. 68. Grip the 
test tube by the mouth and turn it rapidly around in the 
beaker, and in a couple of minutes the freezing mixture 
will change the liquid water {H2O) into ice (H2O). 

What Water of Crystallization Is. There are some kinds 
of crystals which seem to be perfectly dry, as, for instance, 
Glauber^s salts, which is the decahydrate^ of sodium sulphate 
(Na2S0i.ioFl20), that are formed of more than half of 
their weight of water {H2O), and this 
is called water of crystallization. If the 
crystals are heated and the water 
{H2O) is driven out of them, they 
will decompose and crumble to pieces. 

Some crystalline compounds must 
be heated to the temperature of boil¬ 
ing water (2i2°F) before they will 
give up their water of crystallization, 
and others will do so when they are 
simply exposed to the open air. 

When crystals give up their water of 
crystallization the process is called 
efflorescence. There are, however, some crystals which 
when the water of crystallization is driven out of them will 
absorb it again when the compound of which they are formed 
is exposed to moist air, and new crystals are produced; this 
process is just the reverse of efflorescence and is called 
deliquescence. 

How to See the Water of Crystallization. Put half a 

1 A hydrate is a substance that combines with water, or the elements of 
water, and a decahydrate is a hydrate one molecule of which combines with 
10 molecules of water. 



MADE. 
(HaO) 

CRACKED 
ICE 

ANofNaCl) 


Fig. 68 .—How to Make 
Ice. 













66 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


STICK 

THREAD 


SOU^TION 

(CiZ 


CRYSTALS 

(C|2 H22 Oil) 


teaspoonful of copper sulphate {CuS04,.^H20) into a clean, 
dry test tube and heat it over the flame of your lamp or 
burner. Almost instantly it will boil and give up its water 
of crystallization in the form of steam (-S’20),and some of 

this will condense into little drops 
of water (H2O) on the surface of 
the tube. You will also see that 
as the water is driven out of the 
crystals they change from blue un¬ 
til they become colorless. Nearly 
all crystals lose their colors when 
the water of crystallization is 
driven out of them. 

How to Make Rock-Candy Crys¬ 
tals. This is an experiment in 
deliquescence, and to make it take 
a large test tube and then tie one 
end of a stout thread, which is 
about as long as the tube, to a 
nut, or other little weight and the 
other end of it to a bit of wood. 
This done, half fill the tube with 
boiling water {H2O) and stir in as 
much granulated sugar (C12 ^220 n) 
as it will dissolve; now let the 
thread down in the solution and set the tube in a rack where 
it can slowly cooT off, and large crystals of rock-candy 
(C12 H 220 i^ will be formed on the thread, as shown in Fig. 69. 
In the same way you can produce beautiful crystals of 
other substances that have water of crystallization in them. 



WEIOHT 




Fig. 69. 


■How to Make Rock- 
Candy. 




















THE WIZARDRY OF WATER 


67 


How the Experiment Works. When the crystals of 
rock-candy {Ci2H220i^ are forming they leave behind 
them the water of crystallization that is in the minute 
crystals of sugar (Ci2-ff220ii). It is the water of crystalli¬ 
zation that makes the crystals of ordinary sugar (Ci2^?^220ii) 
as soft as they are, and since there is very little water {H2O) 
in the crystals formed on the string, they are quite hard, 
hence the name rock-candy (C12-0^220 n). 

How to Make a Secret Writing Ink. Put a little water 
{H2O) into a test tube and add as much cobalt chloride 
{CoCl^ as it will dissolve, after which it is called a saturated 
solution. To help along the operation, put your thumb 
over the mouth of the test tube, as shown in Fig. 67, and 
shake it vigorously. Now take a quill pen, or sharpen the 
end of a match, and write upon a sheet of pink paper with 
it. Then let it dry, and the writing will be invisible. 

To read what you have written, your friend has only to 
heat the paper a little, and the writing will come out in a 
bright blue color; but as soon as the paper cools off, the 
writing will vanish as completely as if it had never been, at 
least as far as the human eye is concerned. 

How the Experiment Works. Cobalt Chloride {C0CI2) 
comes in the form of blue crystals, and these have very 
little, if any, water {H2O) in them. When it is dissolved 
in water {H2O) and is used as an ink, the cobalt chloride 
{CoCl‘^ absorbs the moisture from the air and forms crys¬ 
tals that, of course, contain water of crystallization, and 
the mixture of cobalt chloride and water (//2O) in them has 
the formula of (CoC/2+6Z?'20), since the cobalt chloride 
(CoC/2) has combined with 6 molecules of water 


68 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


How to Make a Weather Forecaster. The same prin¬ 
ciples can be used for indicating whether the weather is 
going to be fair or rainy, and this is done by the percentage 
of moisture there is in the air. Put enough water {HzO) 
into a test tube to fill it half full, and then dissolve all the 
cobalt chloride {CoClf) that it will take up, that is, you 
make a saturated solution of it. 

Cut a strip inch wide and 4 inches long from a sheet 
of clean white blotting paper and immerse it in the cobalt 
chloride {CoClf) solution; now hang it up to dry and it will 
forecast what the weather is to be by its changing colors. 
When rain is to be expected, the air will be damp and the 
moisture will turn the crystals of cobalt chloride {CoClf) 
in and on the paper pink, and, when the weather is to be 
/aff, the air is much drier and the crystals lose enough of 
their water of crystallization to turn them blue. 

How to Make Imitation Ground Glass. A sheet of clean 
glass painted over with the following solution and then 
allowed to dry makes a very good imitation of ground glass. 
To make the solution, nearly fill a large test tube with water 
{H2O) and then put in 3 teaspoonfuls of ammonium chloride 
(iY 1/^4C/),which is sal ammoniac; shake the tube until the 
salt is thoroughly dissolved, then stir in a couple of drops 
of glue, boil it over the flame of your alcohol lamp, and paint 
the surface of the glass with it while it is hot. As soon as 
the solution begins to cool, the water {H2O) will start to 
evaporate and minute crystals will form all over the surface 
of the glass, and it will look as if it were ground. 

Kinds of Water. By kinds of water {H2O), are meant 
various specimens of it that contain different substances. 


THE WIZARDRY OF WATER 


69 


but, of course, in the last analysis there is really only one 
kind, and this is water {H2O) — that is the liquid formed 
by the chemical union of 2 parts of hydrogen {H) and i 
part of oxygen (O) by volume. 

Water {H2O) is classified under two general heads, and 
these are soft water and hard water. When water {H2O) 
is pure, or nearly so, it is called soft water, and when it con¬ 
tains mineral substances it is called hard water. Of hard 
water there are also two kinds, namely, those that have 
temporary hardness and those that have permanent hardness. 

How to Tell if Water Is Soft or Hard. You can easily 
find out whether water (H2O) is soft or hard by rubbing 
up some soap with it. If it lathers well it is soft water, and 
it follows that if it does not lather well it is hard water. 

How to Test For and Get Rid of Temporary Hardness. 
Half fill a test tube with some of the water {H2O) to be 
tested and boil it for several minutes over the flame of your 
alcohol lamp. If it contains calcium carbonate {CaCOf), 
or limestone, as it is commonly called, it has temporary 
hardness, and to get rid of it you need only to boil it, upon 
which the limestone {CaCOf) will be precipitated, that is, 
thrown down to the bottom of the tube; in this way boiling 
the water {H2O) makes it soft. 

How the Experiment Works. When rain falls it absorbs 
the carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air, and as the water {H2O) 
containing the gas filters through the earth, the carbon 
dioxide {CO2) acts on the limestone, or calcium carbonate 
(CaCOs), and changes it into the more soluble form of cal¬ 
cium bicarbonate {CaCOf), which is dissolved by and re¬ 
mains in the water {H2O). Now when the water is boiled, 



70 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


the carbon dioxide (CO2) is driven off and the calcium 
bicarbonate {CaCO<^ again becomes ordinary limestone, 
or calcium carbonate (CaCOs), and this is precipitated, 
that is, it is thrown down to the bottom of the vessel. 

How to Test For and get Rid of Permanent Hardness. 
Half fill a test tube with some of the water {H2O) to be 
tested and then add Yi teaspoonful of sodium carbonate 
{Na2C0z+ioH20)j which is commonly called soda; place 
your thumb over the mouth of the tube and shake it hard. 
If, now, the water has permanent hardness, white particles 
of gypsum, that is, calcium sulphate (Ca504), or Epsom 
salts,which is magnesium sulphate (MgSO4),or both of these 
salts, will be precipitated, mainly in the form of carbonates. 
Then run the water through a sheet of filter paper, and 
the particles will be left behind and the water will be soft. 

How the Experiment Works. When sodium carbonate 
{Na2 CO5+10 H2O) comes in contact with sulphates that 
cause permanent hardness, the latter are decomposed and 
form calcium carbonate (CaCOs) and magnesium carbon¬ 
ate {MgCO^, which then fall to the bottom, thus leaving 
the water {H2O) soft. How soap cleans when it is used 
with water {H2O) is explained in Chapter XV. 

How to Test Water for Odor and Color. Half fill a 
test tube with some of the water {H2O) to be tested, shake 
it well, and then hold it to your nose; if the water {H2O) 
contains any living organisms, it will give off an odor, and 
if there are any decaying organic impurities in it, the odor 
may be an unpleasant one. Now heat the test tube and 
again smell of it, when you may find that the odor is even 
more pronounced. 


THE WIZARDRY OF WATER 


71 


Half fill a test tube with water {H2O) and let it stand 
for a few minutes; now hold if between your eyes and a 
sheet of white paper against the light, and you can easily 
see if it is tinted or not and whether it is clear or trans¬ 
lucent. This done, shake it well and then examine it again. 

How to Test Water for Mineral Substances. Pour a 
little of the water (H2O) to be 
tested into a watch crystal, or, 
better, a small, porcelain evap- 
orating-dish, and set it in the sun 
until all the water has evapo¬ 
rated. If you want to evaporate 
it more quickly, heat it very 
gently over the flame of your 
lamp or burner, as shown in 
Fig. 70. If it contains organic, 
or mineral matter of any kind, 
or both, such matter will be left 
behind as a residue on the crys¬ 
tal, or dish. Now heat it to red¬ 
ness, and if the residue is formed 
of organic matter it will be decomposed and pass off in the 
form of gases, while if it is formed of mineral matter, it will 
not be affected by the heat. 

How to Test Water for Organic Matter. By organic 
matter is meant matter that is living or was once alive. 
Another and more showy test for organic matter than the 
one given above is to fiU a beaker, or a tumbler, with some 
water {H2O)] now put i teaspoonful of sodium bisulphate 
{NaESO^ in a test tube half full of water (H2O) and shake 



Fig. 70. —How to Test for Mineral 
Matter in Water. 








72 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


it until it is dissolved. This done, put lo or 12 drops of 
the solution into the water {H2O) to be tested. 

Now dissolve M teaspoonful of potassium permanganate 
{KMnO^ in a test tube of water (^Z'20), and with your 
medicine dropper, or pipette, as it is more properly called, 


/ 

1 



Fig. 71. —How to Test for Organic Matter in Water. 


add the solution a drop at a time to the water {H2O) you 
are testing, and at the same time stir it with a clean glass 
rod or tube, as shown in Fig. 71, until it turns a violet color. 
Let the beaker stand for half an hour or more, and if the 
color of the water {H2O) does not change in that time you 
may safely conclude that there is no organic matter in it. 









THE WIZARDRY OF WATER 


73 


If, however, the water ( H2O) loses part of its color, it shows 
that there is organic matter in it. 

How to Test Water for Carbon Dioxide. First prepare 
a little lime-water j which is calcium hydroxide {Ca {OH) 
and this you do by half filling a test tube with pure water 
{H2O), and then dissolving 34 teaspoonful of quicklime, 
which is calcium oxide {CaO) in it. Let it settle and pour 
off the clear part, which is lime-water {Ca{OH)^. Now 
fill a test tube nearly full of the water {H2O) you want to 
test for carbon dioxide (CO2) and then put in half a dozen 
drops of the lime-water {Ca{OH)<^. If there is carbon 
dioxide (CO2) in the water, it will promptly take on a milky 
color. 

How to Test Water for Alkalis. Take a test tube full 
of the water ( H2O) you want to test and put in a couple of 
drops of a solution of phenolphthalein {C2QHi^0^y and this 
you can make by dissolving a little of it in pure methyl 
alcohol {CH2PH), which goes by the name of wood-spirit, 
or wood alcohol. The phenolphthalein {C2oHuO^ is a 
colorless compound, but on coming in contact with an 
alkali it takes on a red tint and so colors the water. 

How to Test Water for Lime. Add 34 teaspoonful of 
sodium carbonate {Na2CO:^ to a test tube of the water 
{H2O) you want to test, and let it stand for half an hour. 
If there is no lime, that is, calcium carbonate (CaCOs), in 
it, the water {H2O) will remain clear, but if there is any 
lime in it, the water {H2O) will take on a milky color. 

How to Test Water for Acids. To make this test all you 
need to do is to soak a strip of blue litmus paper in the water 
( H2O), upon which it will change color if it contains an acid. 


74 


THE BOYi CHEMIST 


How to Test Water for Iron. To a test tube that is half 
full of the water (Zr20) you are going to test, add 34 teaspoon¬ 
ful of sodium ferrocyanide {Na/^Fe{CN)(,-{-i2H20) and 
shake it well. Let the water ( H2O) stand for a few minutes, 
and if it takes on a blue color it shows that there is iron {Fe) 
in it. 

How to Test Water for Sulphur. FiU a test tube full of 
the water to be tested, and then soak a strip of sulphide 
test paper in it. If the water contains sulphur ( 5 ), the paper 
will change its color to a brownish-black. Sulphur water 
is a mineral water {H2O) that has a gas in it called hydrogen 
sulphide {H2S), and it is this gas that makes it smell like 
rotten eggs. 


CHAPTER V. 


EXPERIMENTS WITH HYDROGEN 

It was the English chemist, Cavendish, who first showed 
that hydrogen (H) was a gas by itself and, also, that it 
would produce water {H2O) when it was burned in air. 
It was known, however, before he made these experiments 
that it was the oxygen (0) of the air which supports com¬ 
bustion, and this showed that water ( H2O) was formed of 
oxygen (O) and hydrogen ( H) chemically combined. 

Hydrogen (H) is the lightest gas known, and it is about 
14.3^ times lighter than air, for which reason it is used for 
filling balloons. It is a colorless, tasteless, and odorless 
gas, and does not change blue litmus paper red, which shows 
that it has no acid properties, and yet it is a necessary ele¬ 
ment of all acid compounds. Hydrogen (H) like nitrogen 
(N) is not a poisonous gas, but it cannot support either 
combustion or life; unlike the latter gas, it burns with an 
intense heat in air, or better, in pure oxygen (0), and when 
these two gases are mixed with each other (not chemically 
combined) they form a very explosive mixture. 

How to Analyze Water. After you have made the ex¬ 
periments described in the foregoing chapter your next 
step is to analyze some water {H20)j that is, separate it 
into its two original gases, namely oxygen (0) and hydro¬ 
gen (H); and then you want to make some of the latter 
gas and do the experiments which follow. 


76 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


You can easily separate the oxygen ( 0 ) and hydrogen {H) 
of which water {H2O) is formed by a process known as 
electrolysis—that is, by passing an electric current through 
it. To do the experiment you will need a pair of test tubes, 
a couple of pieces of carbon such as is used for arc lights 
and each of which is about inches long, a soup-plate, 
and a battery of 5 or 6 dry cells. Take two pieces of in¬ 
sulated copper wire and scrape the ends clean, then twist 
one end of each one around each of the pieces of carbon and 
connect the other ends to the battery of dry cells. 

This done, fill the soup-plate nearly full of clean water 
{H2O) —it does not have to be distilled — and stir half a 
dozen drops of sulphuric acid {H2S0i) into it. You will 
remember I told you in the chapter before this that water 
XH2O) is not a conductor of electricity, but you can make 
it^so — it is then called an electrolyte — by adding a little 
common salt, that is, sodium chloride (NaCl), or, better, 
sodium bisulphate (A^aFISOi) or, still better, sulphuric 
acid (H2SO4). 

Now fill both test tubes full of the electrolyte, which is 
the water {H2O) so prepared, then place your finger over 
the mouth of each one in turn, invert it and set it into the 
water {H2O) in the soup-plate over the carbon rod, or elec¬ 
trode, as it is called, as shown in Fig. 72. As soon as you 
have done this you will see bubbles of gas form on each car¬ 
bon electrode and rise up through the water {H2O) to the 
surface of it. 

Now the gas formed in one of the tubes is oxygen ( 0 ), 
and in the other one hydrogen ( H ); after this action has 
taken place for a few minutes you will observe that the 




EXPERIMENTS WITH HYDROGEN 


77 


water {H2O) is sinking in the tubes, and after a longer in¬ 
terval you will further observe that there is twice as much 
gas in one of the tubes as there is in the other one; this is 
easily accounted for, since water (i?20) is formed of 2 parts 
of hydrogen ( H) and i part of oxygen ( 0 ) by volume. The 
gas which takes up the smaller space must, therefore, be 
the oxygen (0), and the one that takes up the larger space 
must be the hydrogen {H). 



Fig. 72. —Separating Water into Its Original Gases. 


To prove that these gases have really been formed in the 
tubes, lift up the one that has the greater amount of water 
{H2O) in it and hold it mouth down, so that the water 
{H2O) will run out and the oxygen ( 0 ) stay in. Now light 
a match, and after it gets to blazing well, blow it out and 
hold it in the tube; instantly it will burst into a flame again, 
and this shows that the gas is oxygen ( 0 ). This done, lift 
up the other tube and let the water {H2O) run out of it; 














































































78 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


next, light a match and hold it to the mouth of the tube, 
upon which the gas in it will explode, and this shows that 
it is hydrogen (H). 

How the Experiment Works. The above experiment 
shows clearly enough that when an electric current acts on 
water {H2O) it separates it into the two gases of which it 
is formed, and this process is called electrolysis. The dis¬ 
coveries made by chemists of the action that takes place 
when water (H2O) and other substances in solution are 

Anode + 



Fig. 73.—Diagram of the Theory of Ionization. 


decomposed by an electric current is explained on the basis 
of what is called ionization. 

The theory of ionization supposes that the molecules 
which form the water (H2O) are made to fall apart, or 
dissociate, as it is called, when an electric current flows 
through, and the atoms of hydrogen {H) and oxygen ( 0 ) 
are then ionized by the electric current, that is, each one 
takes on a charge of electricity and so they are called ions. 

The positively charged atoms, or positive ions, are called 
cations, and the negatively charged atoms, or negative ions, 








































EXPERIMENTS WITH HYDROGEN 


79 



.PLATINUM 

WIRES 


SPARK 

GAP 


are called anions. Now the hydrogen {H) atoms are always 
charged positively, and these ions of the water (^'20), or 
other electrolyte, collect at the negative electrode, which 
is the carbon connected with the zinc pole of the battery, 
while the oxygen (0) atoms are always 
charged negatively, and these ions col¬ 
lect at the positive electrode, which is 
the carbon connected with the carbon 
pole of the battery, as shown in Fig. 73. 

How to Make Synthetic Water with 
an Electric Spark. Since oxygen ( 0 ) 
and hydrogen {H) are obtained when 
water {H2O) is decomposed, these two 
gases should form water {H2O) when 
they are chemically combined, and this 
they do. The apparatus for this ex¬ 
periment is rather costly and is not 
altogether easy to make, but as it 
proves that oxygen (0) and hydrogen 
{H) when they combine form water 
{H2O), I will tell you how to do it. 

First, you need a piece of apparatus 

caUed a eudiometer, and this consists of FiG.74.-The Eudiometer, 
a long glass test tube; a pair of platinum 
wires are sealed in the wall of the tube near the closed end 
and form a spark gap, as shown in Fig. 74-. The outside 
ends of the wires are connected with a small induction coil, 
or spark coil^ as it is usually called, and this is energized by 
a battery, as shown in Fig. 75. 

Now fill the eudiometer full of mercury {Hg), so that 















80 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


there will be no air in it, then invert it in a bowl of mercury 
(and keep it in an upright position with the aid of the 
ring-stand, as in Fig. 76. The next step is to place the free 
end of the delivery tube of your oxygen generator, which 
is shown in Fig. 4.2, under the mercury {Hg) and in the 
mouth of the eudiometer, and pass enough oxygen (0) into 
it to displace about i inch of the mercury {Hg). This done. 



Fig. 75. —The Eudiometer Connected with the Spark Coil. 


withdraw the tube and insert one that is connected with 
your hydrogen generator, which is shown in Fig. 72, and 
pass^enough hydrogen ( H) into it to displace 2 inches more 
of mercury. 

Now as long as these two gases in the tube are merely 
mixed they will remain in this condition for a long time, 
but the moment a spark is made to pass between the points 
of the platinum wires in the eudiometer, it will ignite them, 
a little explosion will take place, and they will combine 
chemically and form a minute quantity of water {H2O). 

How to Make Synthetic Water with an Alcohol Flame. 





















































EXPERIMENTS WITH HYDROGEN 


81 


You do not need the elaborate apparatus just described 
to produce water {H2O) synthetically; instead here is a 
very simple way in which you can generate hydrogen {H) 
and make it combine with the oxygen (0) of the air, and 
form water {H2O). 

Put a little methyl alcohol (C//3O//), or wood alcohol, 




EVAPORAT- 
IN& 


DROPS 

OF 

(HiO) 


fCHsOH) 

flame 


Fig. 76.—The Eudiometer Ready 
for the Experiment. 


Fig. 77. —Producing Water with 
an Alcohol Flame. 


as it is called, into your evaporating-dish and light it. Now 
hold a perfectly dry cold beaker over the flame, and very 
soon minute drops of water {H2O) will form on the inside 
surface of it, as shown in Fig. 77. 

How the Experiment Works. The alcohol {CH^OH) 
contains, as the formula just given shows, 3 atoms of hydro¬ 
gen {H) and the heat of the flame makes the oxygen ( 0 ) 
of the air combine with it, so that water {II2O) is formed. 





























82 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


How to Make Hydrogen. This is the usual way that 
hydrogen {H) is made for experimental purposes. First, 
cut up a piece of sheet zinc {Zn) into bits, or better, get 
some granulated zinc {Zn) and put the zinc into an Erlen" 
meyer flask; now seal a glass delivery tube and a funnel 
tube, commonly known as a thistle tube” from its shape, 
in a cork with sealing wax and put this into the mouth of 
the flask. Make it tight, or the hydrogen {H) will 
leak out. 

This done, pour a little sulphuric acid {H2SO^y or oil of 
vitriol, as it is sometimes called, into the flask and add 5 or 
6 times its volume of water {H2O), and the zinc {Zn) will 
instantly act on it; the solution will boil and a great deal 
of heat will be evolved and a large amount of hydrogen 
{H) will be set free. As hydrogen {H) is so much lighter 
than the air, it can be collected in an inverted bottle, as 
shown in Fig. 78, where it will displace the air and remain 
for some time. 

How the Experiment Works. When the zinc {Zn) acts 
on the sulphuric acid {H2SOf) the hydrogen {H) of the 
latter is set free and the zinc {Zn) takes its place, forming 
zinc sulphate {ZnSOf) which, as its formula shows, contains 
zinc {Zn), sulphur ( 5 ), and oxygen ( 0 ). The zinc sulphate 
{ZnSOf) thus formed is dissolved in the water {H2O) of the 
acid, but you can easily recover it by evaporating the solu¬ 
tion, upon which it will remain in the dish as a white solid. 

Note. — Whenever you make hydrogen (^), you should 
never light it until it has passed off from the generating 
apparatus for at least 5 minutes. This is because there is 
always air mixed with the first of the gas that passes off, 



EXPERIMENTS WITH HYDROGEN 


83 


and this forms a very explosive mixture, due to the oxygen 
(0) of the former. 

It is also a good plan to wrap a cloth around the flask, 
so that if there should be an explosion the flask will not fly 
to pieces. Further, always make a test of the gas first, 
and this you can do by filling a test tube with it and light- 



Fig. 78.—How to Make Hydrogen. 

ing it; if it burns quietly, you can then safely light it as it 
issues from the delivery tube. 

How to Make Hydrogen without an Acid. Put I ounce 
of potassium hydroxide (ikO//), which is commonly called 
caustic potash, in an Erlenmeyer flask, or one of the ordinary 
kind, add 3^ ounce each of fine granulated zinc {Zn) and 
some iron turnings {Fe) and then cover these over with 






































84 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


water {H2O). This done, fit a cork with a delivery tube 
in it into the neck of the flask; a reaction is now set up in 
which the hydrogen {H) is liberated, and this you can col¬ 
lect in another tube, or you can light it at the tip of the 
delivery tube. 

How the Experiment Works. The zinc {Zfi) acts on the 
potassium hydroxide {KOH) and forms potassium {K), 



Fig. 79, —How to Pour Out Hydrogen. 

zinc oxide {ZnO), and hydrogen (F), which is set free. By 
writing this reaction in the form of an equation^ it is made 
clearer because of its brevity, thus: 

Zn + KO H = K + ZnO + H T 
Zinc Potassium Potassium Zinc Hydrogen 
Hydroxide Oxide 

Note:—^Wherever you see an arrow pointing up in an 
equation you will know that the preceding substance is a 
gas. 

1 The nature of an equation is explained in Chapter X. 


EXPERIMENTS WITH HYDROGEN 


85 


How to Pour out Hydrogen. Since hydrogen {H) is 
about 14 H times lighter than air, if you want to transfer 
it from one vessel to another you must pour it upward, as 
shown in Fig. 79. To do this, take a test tube and fill it 
with hydrogen (ZZ"), then 
hold another test tube 
vertically with its mouth 
down; hold the full tube 
vertically at first with its 
mouth down, with the 
edge of it touching the 
edge of the other one; 
now lower the closed end 
of the full tube and the 
gas will ascend and you 
will have performed the 
feat of pouring it up. 

The Diffusion of Hy¬ 
drogen. Take two test 
tubes and fill one with 
hydrogen {H) and, of 
course, hold it with its 
mouth down to keep the 
hydrogen {H) in. Hold 

another test tube with air in it with its mouth up and place 

the tubes together, as shown in Fig. 80. Since air is so much 

« 

heavier than hydrogen {H)^ it would seem that they would 
remain separated in their respective tubes, but such, how¬ 
ever, is not at all the case; after a little while the hydrogen 
{H) sinks into the air just as though gravity were pulling 






































86 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


it down, and this curious effect is called diffusion. The 
same action takes place when you open a bottle of perfume 
and its scent penetrates the air everywhere in the room. 

How to Make a Hydrogen Flame. To make a hydrogen 
{H) flame, all you need to do is to take the rubber bulb 



Fig. 8i. —How to Make a Hydrogen Flame. 

from a pipette and couple the large end of it with the free 
end of the delivery tube of your generating apparatus by 
means of a bit of rubber tubing, as shown in Fig. 8i. Before 
lighting the gas at the tip of the pipette, be sure to let the 
generator run at least 5 minutes to get rid of all of the air 
or else you are liable to have an explosion, as explained 
under the caption of “How to Make Hydrogen.” 





















EXPERIMENTS WITH HYDROGEN 


87 


How Hydrogen Acts on Flame. Take a large test tube 
full of hydrogen ( H) and keep it inverted, as shown in Fig. 
82. Now light a match and hold it to the mouth of the 
tube and the gas will catch fire and burn with an almost 
invisible flame, which will work its way into the tube and 



Fig. 82. —The Hydrogen 
Burns Gently. 



finally go out. This experiment shows that hydrogen 
( H) is a combustible gas. 

Twist a wire around a match and light it. Now take 
another test tube of hydrogen {H), hold it mouth down¬ 
ward as before, quickly push the lighted match up to the 
top of the tube, as in Fig. 83, and it will go out, though 



























88 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


the gas will burn at the mouth. This experiment shows 
that hydrogen (H) will not support combustion. 

Finally, take another test tube full of hydrogen 
hold it mouth upward, as in Fig. 84, and touch a lighted 
match to the mouth of it, and there will be an explosion. 
This experiment shows that when hydrogen ( H) and oxygen 



Fig. 84. —The Hydrogen Mixed with Air Explodes. 


(0) come in contact with each other they form an explosive 
mixture. 

How to Blow Hydrogen Soap Bubbles. Connect a blad¬ 
der^ or, better, a small rubber gas bag, to the delivery tube - 
of your hydrogen-generating apparatus, fill it with gas, and 

1 To prepare a bladder for use as a gas bag, rub it well with a mixture of 1 
part of glycerine and 2 parts of water. A rubber gas bag is cheap* clean, and 
convenient and can be bought of dealers in chemical apparatus. 



















EXPERIMENTS WITH HYDROGEN 


89 


then tie the neck of it up tight; this done, connect the stem 
of an ordinary clay pipe to the neck of the bladder, or bag, 
and then make a solution of good soap and soft water ( H2O). 

Now dip the mouth of the pipe in the soap solution, cut 
the thread from the neck of the bladder, or gas bag, and 
then press on it, and a bubble will be formed, as shown 



Fig. 85. —Blowing Hydrogen Soap Bubbles. 


in Fig. 85. As hydrogen (H) is so much lighter than the 
air, the bubble will go up like a balloon, which it really is, 
and break when it strikes the ceiling. If, however, you 
hold a lighted match to it as it ascends, it will burst with a 
faint yellow flash and explode with a slight noise. 

How to Blow Hydrogen Cauliflower Soap Bubbles. Fill 
a bladder, or a gas bag, with hydrogen (H) as before, but 











90 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


instead of the clay pipe fasten a glass tube in the neck of it; 
this done, half fill a wash-basin with the soap solution, 
then put the end of the tube into it and press on the bladder, 
or gas bag, and the basin will be filled to overflowing with 
small hydrogen (H) bubbles, as shown in Fig. 86. Now 
tie a match to a long stick, then light it and bring it into 
contact with the bubbles, and they will explode like a bunch 
of giant fire-crackers going off. 



Tig. 86 . —^How to Blow Hydrogen Cauliflower Soap Bubbles. 


How to Blow Resin Bubbles. Procure I ounce of pure 
linseed oil and 8 ounces of resin and put them in your 
porcelain evaporating-dish; place this dish in a pan partly 
filled with water. This arrangement, which is shown in 
cross-section in Fig. 87, is called a water hath. Now heat 
the pan with your alcohol lamp, or Bunsen burner, until 
the mixture is the right consistency and then blow bubbles 
with the clay pipe, either with air in the usual way or with 
the gas-bag apparatus which I have just described. If 
you blow resin bubbles with air, they will burst on coming 






EXPERIMENTS WITH HYDROGEN 


91 


in contact with the table or floor, but you can keep them 
for a long time by letting them fall on a sheet of paper on 
which you have sprinkled some lycopodium powder. Bub- 

RESIN AND 

^^LiNSEED Oil 


(h^o) 


Fig. 87. —Melting the Resin and Linseed Oil Over a Water Bath. 



Fig. 88 .—A Self-Lighting Gas Flame. 

bles blown with the resin solution are exceedingly thin and, 
different from soap bubbles: they are perfectly gas-tight. 
They are very pretty when the sunlight is allowed to fall 
on them. 

How to Make a Self-Lighting Flame. Make a hydrogen 

































92 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


{H) gas jet, as shown in Fig. 8i, and hold a piece of spongy 
platinum {Pt) over it, as shown in Fig. 88, and it will soon 
get red-hot and then, in 
turn, it will light the gas. 

Spongy platinum {Pt) 
is a powdered form of 
platinum {Pt), and you 
can buy it ready to use. 

It is made by dissolv¬ 
ing platinum {Pt) in 
aqua regia, which is a 
mixture of i part of 
nitric acid (H NO^ and 
3 parts of hydrochloric 
acid {HCl). Crystals 
of chloroplatinic acid 
{H2PtCl^ are thus 
formed; ammonium 
chloride {NH^Cl) is 
then added, which pre¬ 
cipitates the platinum 
(P/)as ammonium chlo- 
roplatinate {{NH^2 Pt 
C/e), and on heating the 
compound it leaves the 
platinum {Pt) in a pow¬ 
dered form, and this is Electric Bell in Hydrogen. 

called spongy platinum {Pt). 

How Hydrogen Acts on Silver Nitrate. Dissolve as 
much silver nitrate {AgNO^ as you can in a teaspoonful 



GALLON 

SIZE Jar 




















































EXPERIMENTS WITH HYDROGEN 


93 


of pure water (^r20),and with a toothpick write or draw 
upon a piece of silk; this done, moisten the latter with a 
damp sponge and then place the silk in a beaker of hydro¬ 
gen {H), or you can direct 
a stream of the gas on it 
with the bladder or rubber- 
bag apparatus. The hydro¬ 
gen ( H) removes the oxygen 
(0) of the silver nitrate 
{AgNO^ and leaves the pure 
metal on the silk. 

How Hydrogen Acts on 
Sound. For the following 
experiments take a gallon 
glass fruit jar, or a battery 
jar, fill it with hydrogen 
(ZT), and suspend it by 
means of strings; now con¬ 
nect a dry cell with an 
electric bell and hold the 
latter in the jar, as shown 
in Fig. 89, and it will give 
out quite a different sound 
from that which it does 
when it rings in air. 

If you can get one of those squeaking toys that are sold 
at Christmas time, made in the form of a head, a duck, or 
a dog, and work it in a jar of hydrogen {H)^ as shown in 
Fig. 90, it will give forth a most ridiculous sound which 
is very funny. In fact any object which will make a sound 



Fig. 90.—A Squeaking 
Head in Hydrogen. 









































94 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


in air and that can be worked in a jar of hydrogen ( H) will 
set up a weird and curious noise. 

While this experiment is not an easy one to make, still 
if you can do it you will cause no end of astonishment. 
Invert a tin, or copper, wash-boiler and suspend it by its 
handles. This done, fill it with hydrogen {H) and then 
play an accordion in it. 'After hearing the wonderful music 



Fig. 91.—A Hydrogen Flame Organ Pipe. 


it makes you will not need to stretch your imagination to 
conceive what a whole orchestra shut up in a room of hydro¬ 
gen ( H) would sound like. 

Here is an experiment that has been made but which 
you are not advised to try. When perfectly pure hydrogen 
{H) is inhaled it is like nitrogen ( 7 Y) in that it kills, not 
because it is a poison but because it will not support life. 
A most curious effect is produced on the voice by inhaling 
















EXPERIMENTS WITH HYDROGEN 


95 


some of the gas and then speaking, or singing, while it is 
being exhaled, for it changes the deep voice of a man into 
a nasal, piping tone that is both curious and funny. In 
this experiment, two precautions must be taken, and these 



are to use absolutely pure hydrogen {H), and to keep en¬ 
tirely away from a flame of any kind while inhaling the gas. 

How to Make a Hydrogen-Flame Organ Pipe. For 
this experiment use the apparatus described under the 
caption of ^^How to Make a Hydrogen Flame” and hold a 
glass tube that has a bore of i or i F2 inches and a length of 
18 or 20 inches and open at both ends, over a very small 


















































96 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


flame, as pictured in Fig. 91. Now raise and lower the 
tube a little at a time, and you will strike a point where it 
will give out a clear musical note, and then by moving it 
up or down, different tones will be produced. 

How the Experiment Works. When 32 or more vibra¬ 
tions take place in a second, a musical sound is set up that 



the ear can hear. Now when the flame -is made to burn 
in the tube there will be a large number of regular explo¬ 
sions of the hydrogen {H), and this sets up waves in the 
air, which in turn produce a musical sound. 

How to Purify Hydrogen Gas. In making experiments 
with hydrogen (S'), it is often necessary to have it free 
from all other substances. To purify it you need only to 
pass it through a solution made by dissolving i ounce of 




































EXPERIMENTS WITH HYDROGEN 


97 


potassium permanganate {KMnO^ in 4 or 5 ounces of 
water {H2O). This solution is put in a wash-bottle, that 
is, a flask or any wide-mouth bottle with a tight-fitting 
cork in which there are two tubes; the longer one, which 
reaches below the surface of the solution, is connected with 
the delivery tube of the generating apparatus, and the 
purified hydrogen (H) is given off through the short tube, 
as shown in Fig. 92. 

How to Dry Hydrogen. Likewise it is often desirable 
that the hydrogen (H) after it is purified should be per¬ 
fectly dry. You can easily extract the moisture from it 
by first passing it from the wash-bottle connected with 
the generating apparatus into a bladder, or rubber bag; 
now connect the latter with one of the ends of a U-tube in 

s 

which you have placed i ounce, or more, of calcium chloride 
(CaC/2) and the other end with a dehvery tube, as shown 
in Fig. 93. Calcium chloride (CaCh) is a substance that 
is very' deliquescent, that is, it has the power of absorbing 
large quantities of water {H2O) and, hence, it extracts 
whatever moisture there may be in a gas which is either 
passed through or over it. 


CHAPTER VI 


A PAIR OF SMELLY GASES 

There are less than a dozen gases that are known to 
exist as elements, and the most important of these, namely 
oxygen ( 0 ), nitrogen (TV), and hydrogen (^), I have told 
you about in the chapters that have gone before. There 

is, however, another gas called chlorine {Cl) that is an ele¬ 
ment, and as it is widely used I want you to know about 

I 

it, too. 

Now while chlorine {Cl) is not found free in nature, 
there is an enormous amount of it locked up in various 
compounds, as for instance in sodium chloride (TVaCT), 
that is, common salt. As % by volume of sodium chloride 
{NaCl) is formed of chlorine {Cl) and there is enough salt 
in the oceans to make a range of mountains as large as the 
Alps, it will be seen that it is extremely plentiful and, more¬ 
over, it is easy to obtain. In turn, chlorine {Cl) forms a 
large number of useful compounds when mixed or combined 
with other elements. 

Another interesting gas, though very strong-smelling, 

which I shall tell you of in this chapter, is ammonia {N 

but this is a compound and it is made up, as its formula 

shows of I atom of nitrogen (TV) combined with 3 atoms of 

hydrogen {E). Now free hydrogen {H) is very scarce, 

and while water {E< 0 ) is made up of % by volume of this 

98 


A PAIR OF SMELLY GASES 


99 


gas, it is not altogether easy to separate it from the oxygen 
(0) in commercial amounts. But hydrogen {H) is found 
in large quantities in all living and dead plant and animal 
matter and also in natural gas and petroleum, and from 
these compounds it can be easily obtained; hence, ammonia 
(N Hs) can be cheaply made in large quantities. 

Experiment with Chlorine. Chlorine (Cl) is a trans¬ 
parent gas of a yellowish-green color and Davy, who proved 
that it is an element, gave it this name from the Greek word 
chloroSj which means green. Chlorine (Cl) was discovered 
by Scheelein 1774., and it was he who first made it. This he 
did by treating black oxide of manganese {MnO<^ with 
hydrochloric acid (L/’C/), or spirit of salt as it was called 
in the early days of chemistry. 

Chlorine {Cl) is a gas that is nearly 3 times as heavy as 
air, and it has a pungent, suffocating odor, which is very 
penetrating. In making experiments with it, be very 
careful not to inhale it, for it has an irritating effect on the 
throat, and pure chlorine {Cl) will kill. While chlorine 
{Cl) will not itself burn, it will support the combustion of 
some substances. Scheele not only discovered this gas, 
but he found out most of its characteristics, including the 
all-important one that when it is mixed with water {H2O) 
it will bleach out all kinds of vegetable colors. 

The process for making chlorine {Cl) is not nearly so 
simple as that for oxygen (0), but you can make it for experi¬ 
mental purposes without any trouble. There are three 
ways by which it can be made, and these are to pass a cur¬ 
rent of electricity through a solution of sodium chloride 
{NaCl)j that is, common salt, and water (^^2^), just as you 


» > 1 


f 


100 


THE BOY CHEMIST 



: r(Hci) 

AND 

:H(h.o) 



did the water {H2O) alone, to 
separate it into its component 
gases, as described in the previous 
chapter; to use hydrogen chloride 
{HCl), or some other cheap 
compound that contains the gas, 
and make the hydrogen {H) in 
it combine with the oxygen (0) 
of the air, setting free the chlor¬ 
ine (C/); and, by the easier pro¬ 
cess which I shall now describe. 


(KMh04) 



CARD 


CHLORINE GAS 

generator 


DRYING BOTTLE 


RECEIVING 

BOTTLE 


Fig. 94.—Apparatus for Generating Chlorine Gas.* 


How to Make Chlorine. To make enough chlorine {Cl) 
to experiment with, all you need is a flask fitted with a funnel 
and a short delivery tube; connect the latter with the long 


































































A PAIR OF SMELLY GASES 


101 


tube of a wash-bottle while the short tube of the latter 
leads into a bottle that is to hold the gas, and which stands 
right side up, as shown in Fig. 94. 

Now while chlorine {Cl) is heavier than air,it is a good 
plan to slip a card over the delivery tube of the wash- 
bottle and lay it over the mouth of the bottle that is to 
hold the gas, to prevent its dispersion. If you want the 
gas to be perfectly dry as well as pure, then you will have 
to use the wash-bottle as a drying bottle, by filling it about 
one-third full of concentrated sulphuric acid {H2SO^. 

Having the apparatus set up, put i ounce of potassium 
permanganate {KMnO^ in the flask and then fit the cork 
in tight. Now fill a pipette, or medicine dropper, with a 
solution made of i part of water {H2O) and 3 parts of con¬ 
centrated hydrochloric acid (HCl), which is the only com¬ 
pound that hydrogen (H) and chlorine (Cl) will form with 
each other, and let it fall drop by drop into the funnel. A 
better appliance than the pipette is a funnel with a 
stopcock in it. The acid is used up very fast and the gas 
is set free in a quantity large enough to make a constant 
stream of it flow from the delivery tube, while the bottle 
is filled by the gas falling to the bottom and forcing the air 
out at the top. 

How the Experiment Works. When the potassium 
permanganate {KMnO^ comes into contact with the 
hydrochloric acid (H Cl) it forms four substances, and these 
are water (^2^), potassium chloride {KCl), manganese 
chloride {MnCh), and chlorine (Cl). The water {H2O) 
and the chlorides are left behind in the flask, and since the 
chlorine ( Cl) is a gas it passes out of the delivery tube. 


102 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


Note. — In making chlorine {Cl) and experimenting 
with it, you should do so either in a shed or outdoors, for 
the gas is not only very bad to breathe but it will destroy 
the finish on furniture, take the color out of draperies, and 
spoil the polish on metal work. 

How to Test for Chlorine. Pour a little of the gas into 
a test tube of pure water {H2O), and then dissolve a crystal 
of silver nitrate {AgNO^ in a teaspoonful of pure water 
{H2O)] this done,add a few drops of it to the solution in 
the test tube. If the solution is chlorine {Cl) in water 
{H2O )—which makes hypochlorous acid {HCIO )—a 
precipitate will be formed like the curd of milk, and this is 
silver chloride {AgCl)\ spread this salt out on paper and 
let the sunlight shine on it and it will turn black. 

How Chlorine Acts on Flame. Twist a wire around a 
match, then light it and lower it into a test tube of chlorine 
(C/); the latter will ignite and burn with a dull red flame, 
then dense fumes will be given off and the flame will soon 
go out. 

Spontaneous Combustion. Cut a strip of filter paper 
about Yi inch wide and 4. inches long and fold it over length¬ 
wise; dip one end of it into some turpentine that has been 
warmed, and lower it into a test tube of chlorine (C/). It 
will instantly ignite and give off a lot of black smoke. 

Moisten a strip of filter paper with concentrated liquid 
ammonia (iY H's) and lower it into the test tube of chlorine 
(C/) and it will ignite spontaneously-. • 

How to Make a Smoke Screen. Here is a way to make 
smoke that is blacker than the blackest smoke of smoky 
Pittsburgh. Put 1/3 ounce of wood-alcohol {CH^OH) 




A PAIR OF SMELLY GASES 


103 


into a long test tube, then add i ounce of sulphuric acid 
{H2SO4) and heat them over the flame of your alcohol 
lamp. This done, grease the mouth of the test tube so 
that an air-tight joint can be 
made, and pour some chlorine 
(Cl) gas into the tube, put a 
piece of glass on top of it, and 
shake it well. The next step 
is to take oh the glass and 
light the gas in the tube, upon 
which a great cloud of dense 
black smoke will be formed 
by the carbon (C) which is set 
free, as shown in Fig. 95. While 
the gas is burning, you will 
hear an ominous noise like 
that of a miniature earthquake 
as the flame moves down 
from the mouth to the bot¬ 
tom of the tube. 

The Art of Bleaching. Chlor¬ 
ine (Cl) is an active element, 
and in this respect is very 
much like oxygen (0); fur¬ 
ther, it has a larger number of chemical properties than 
this latter gas has. Now while it is commonly said that 
chlorine (Cl) bleaches, when it is perfectly dry it has no 
bleaching properties whatever, and before it will bleach 
it must be brought into contact with water (H2O), This 
can be done by adding some chlorine (Cl) to water (H2O), 



Fig. 95.—How to Make 
a Smoke Screen. 
























104 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


upon which hypochlorous acid (HCIO) results, and this 
has bleaching properties; or the colored piece of goods can, 
be moistened with water {H2O) first and then dipped into 
a jar of chlorine {Cl ); in either case the colors will fade away 
until the piece of goods is perfectly white. 



(Co, Cl a) 


Fig. 96. —Making Some Dry Chlorine Gas. 


How to Test the Bleaching Power of Chlorine. Put 2 
or 3 ounces of calcium chloride (CaC/2), that you have 
broken up into small lumps, into a perfectly dry jar, then 
cut a hole in a sheet of blotting paper and put it on top of 
the jar. Pour some chlorine (C/) from the jar or bottle 























A PAIR OF SMELLY GASES 


105 


containing it into the other one, as shown in Fig. 96; the 
purpose of the blotting paper is to prevent any water ( H2O) 
that may have gathered in the chlorine bottle from getting 
into the dry jar when you pour it out, and the purpose of 
the calcium chloride {CaCh) is to absorb whatever water 
( H2O) there may be in the gas itself. 

Now take a toothpick or a quill and write your name 
boldly with some ordinary ink on a strip of paper, dry it 


Fig. 97. —The Writing in the Bottle. Fig. 98. —The Writing Bleached Out. 



over a stove to expel any moisture that there may be in it, 
and while it is yet warm put it into the jar of chlorine (Cl) 
and cork it up, as shown in Fig. 97, and you will find that 
the gas has practically no effect on it. 

Having made this experiment, take out the paper, moisten 
it with water, (H2O), again put it in the jar of chlorine (Cl) 
and cork it up, as in Fig. 98, and in a very short time you 
will find the ink fading, and, finally, it will disappear alto¬ 
gether. 

How the Experiment Works. While chlorine (Cl) when 











































106 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


it is perfectly dry has no bleaching power, on coming into 
contact with water {H2O) it forms hypochlorous acid 
{HClO)j as mentioned before. Now when this solution is 
exposed to the sunlight it decomposes very fast, and hydro¬ 
gen chloride (HCt), which is a gas, is formed; this remains 
behind with the water {H20)j then the solution becomes 
hydrochloric acid {ECl) (commonly called muriatic acid), 
and the oxygen (0) is set free. 

Oxygen ( 0 ) is a strong oxidizing agent and, hence, it 
combines with the organic matter of which the ink is made, 
and so takes it out of the paper. Oxygen ( 0 ) does not act 
as a bleaching agent under ordinary conditions, but it takes 
on this power at the instant it is set free from the water 
{H2O) by the chlorine {Cl), hence, it is the oxygen ( 0 ) 
which bleaches, and not the chlorine {Cl) itself. 

How to Make Red Roses White. Tie the stem of a red 
rose to a pin pushed through a cork, and then put the lat¬ 
ter into the mouth of a bottle of dry chlorine {Cl), as shown 
in Fig. 99. In the course of a little while the red color will 
begin to fade away, and finally it will vanish altogether 
and the rose will be a perfectly white one. The reason 
that flowers can be bleached in dry chlorine {Cl) is because 
a very considerable part of them is formed of water {H2O). 
Wheat flour is bleached with chlorine {Cl), and this is the 
way it is made so white. 

How to Make Bleaching Powder. Calcium hypochlorite 
{CaOCh), or chloride of lime, or bleaching powder, as it is 
more often called, is made by passing chlorine {Cl) through 
calcium hydroxide {Ca{ 0 H)f), or slaked lime, to give it its 
common name. Chloride of lime {CaOClf), is an unstable 


A PAIR OF SMELLY GASES 


107 


compound which gives up its oxygen (0) freely and leaves 
calcium chloride (CaC/2, 6H2O) behind. It is the oxygen 
(O) that is set free which kills germs in decaying and dead 
plant and animal matter and it is, therefore, largely used 
as a disinfectant as well as a bleaching agent. 

To make a little bleaching powder, put a tablespoonful 
of chloride of lime {CaOClf) in a beaker and half fill the 

latter with water {H2O). Stir 
it with a glass rod until as 
much as possible of the lime is 
dissolved, let it settle, and then 
pour off the clear solution. Now 
dip a piece of paper colored with 
ink, or a piece of muslin with 
fruit stains on it, into it and 
they will be bleached out, leav¬ 
ing the paper or muslin perfectly 
white. 

How to Make a Bleaching 
Liquid. Fill a small test tube 
with water {H2O), then add a few drops of sulphuric acid 
(//25O4) and stir with a glass rod; this done, dissolve in 
the solution as much potassium chlorate {KClOf) as you 
can put on the point of a knife-blade, and you will find 
that it has decided bleaching properties. 

Note. — Do not make this experiment on any larger 
scale than is given, or you may have an explosion. 

How to Make a Bandanna Handkerchief. Fifty years 
ago a gentleman would be as lost without a bandanna hand¬ 
kerchief as he is to-day in Piccadilly without an eye-glass. 



Fig. 99.—To Make a Red 
Rose White. 




























108 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


But I wonder if you know just what a bandanna handker¬ 
chief is. For fear you may not, let me say that it is a very 
large red silk handkerchief with white spots on it. 

When they first became popular, they were made by the 
very simple expedient of laying red silk handkerchiefs be¬ 
tween thin sheets of lead in which there were a number of 



Fig. loo.—How to Make a Bandanna Handkerchief. 


holes. When a pile of 40 or 50 handkerchiefs and lead 
plates were laid in this fashion, a solution of chlorine {Cl) 
and water {H^O), that is, hypochlorous acid (Z^'C/ 0 ),was 
poured in the holes in the top plate, and as it seeped through 
the successive pieces of red silk it took the color out of them 
and left spots that were perfectly white. 

You can imitate this process by cutting out a hole an 
inch in diameter in two strips of cigar-box wood, then plac- 





A PAIR OF SMELLY GASES 


109 


ing a piece of calico dyed with Turkey redd which you have 
moistened, between them, and slipping a strong rubber 
band over each end, as shown in Fig. loo. This done, drop 
some hypochlorous acid( i 7 C/ 0 ), which is a bleaching liquid, 
into the hole of the top board and let it filter through the 
cloth. Finally, take the calico from the boards and wash 



Fig. loi. —Making a Little Ammonia Gas. 


it, and you will find a perfectly white spot on it where the 
liquid came in contact with the colored fibres. 

Experiment with Ammonia. While the ammonia 
{NH4PH) we know so well and use so much of is a liquid 
formed of ammonia (N H3), which is a gas, dissolved in 
water {H2O), real ammonia {NH3) is a transparent color¬ 
less gas that has a very penetrating, choking odor, and 

1 Turkey red is a dye produced when alizarin (CuHgO^) is used with a 
mordant of aluminum sulphate (AI2 {SO^3.1120). 


















110 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


when inhaled it produces suffocation. Ammonia {NH^ 
is only about half as heavy as air, and while it will not burn 
in the latter, it will burn in oxygen (O). 

One of the characteristics of ammonia is that a 

large amount of it will dissolve in a very small amount of 
water" (fi'20), which is to say that 600 volumes of ammonia 
{N can be dissolved in i volume of water Now, 



RTAR 

Fig. 102.—Rubbing Up Sal Ammoniac and Slaked Lime in a Mortar. 


(NH4C1) 


PESTLE 


in the experiments to follow, be sure to keep ammonia 
(NHz) gas separate and distinct in your mind from ammon¬ 
ium hydroxide (NH4PH), which is ammonia (NHz) gas 
dissolved in water and is generally called ammonia^ 

or more properly, aqua ammonia. 

How to Make a Little Ammonia. Half fill a test tube 
with concentrated liquid ammonia, which is made by dis¬ 
solving as much ammonia in water (H2O) as possi¬ 

ble, then put a cork into the mouth of it, which is fitted with 





A PAIR OF SMELLY GASES 


111 


a delivery tube, as shown in Fig. loi, heat the solution of 
ammonia (NH^) over the flame of your alcohol lamp, 
and ammonia (NHs) gas will be given off, and this you 
can detect by cautiously smelling at the opening of the 
delivery tube. 



Fig. 103. —Making Ammonia Gas for Experimental Purposes. 


How to Make Ammonia on a Larger Scale. Put I ounce 
of ammonium chloride that is, sal ammoniac, 

into a mortar and powder it, as shown in Fig. 102; now 
powder i ounce of calcium hydroxide {CaipH)^, which is 
slaked lime, in a mortar and then mix them well together. 
This done, put them into a glass flask, add a little warm 
water {H2O), and put in a cork that has a delivery tube in 




























112 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


it; finally heat it gently over the flame of your alcohol 
lamp for lo minutes, as shown in Fig. 103, and ammonia 
(NHz) gas will be given off, and,as it is only about half as 
heavy as air, you can collect it in a large test tube or a 
bottle by inverting it over the free end of the delivery tube, 
which should reach nearly to the top of the container. 

How the Experiment Works. When the ammonium 
chloride {NH^Cl) and calcium hydroxide {Ca{OH)‘^ are 
heated together they combine and form calcium chloride 
(CaC/2), water {H2O), and ammonia {N gas, which is 
given off, or to write it as an equation: 

NH^Cl + Ca{OE)2 = CaCh + + NH^ T 

Ammonium Calcium Calcium Water Ammonia 

chloride hydroxide chloride 

To Show How Ammonia Dissolves in Water. Take a 
strong test tube and fill it with ammonia (N H^) gas, stand 
it in a small dish of mercury (Hg) (an individual butter¬ 
dish will do) so that the gas will be sealed in the tube 
air-tight, as shown in Fig. 104. Now set the dish and the 
tube in a larger glass dish and nearly fill the latter with 
water these preliminaries attended to, lift the test 

tube so that its mouth will be just above the surface of the 
mercury (Hg), but not out of the water {H2O), and the 
latter will rush up into the tube and nearly fill it, as shown 
in Fig. 105. 

How the Experiment Works. This curious action is due 
to the fact that the instant the mouth of the test tube is 
lifted above the mercury (Hg), the water {H2O) enters it 
and absorbs about all of the ammonia (NHs) gas that fills 
the tube; this action leaves a vacuum in the tube and the 


A PAIR OF SMELLY GASES 


113 


pressure of the outside air on the water {H2O) in the dish 
forces the latter up into it. 

How to Make an Ammonia-Operated Fountain. For 
this experiment, which is one in physics as well as in chem¬ 
istry, use a round flask, and through the cork of it fit a 



Fig. 104, —The Test Tube 
Sealed by Mercury. 



Fig. 105. —The Test Tube 
Lifted from the Mercury. 


short piece of tube with one end drawn to a nozzle. 
Now fill the flask with ammonia (NHs) gas and put the 
cork into it tight, with the nozzle end of the pipette up into 
the neck; color some water (H2O) with a little aniline dye, 
either red or blue, and then dip the lower and larger end of 
the pipette into it, as is shown in Fig. 106. 



























































































114 THE BOY CHEMIST 

Instantly the ammonia (NH^) gas in the flask will be 
absorbed by the water {H2O) and produce a vacuum in 
the flask. This causes the pressure of the air on the water 
( H2O) outside to force it up through the nozzle, after which 

it will fall in a spray. 

How to Make Concentrated 
Liquid Ammonia. Liquid ammonia 
(NHs) is ammonia (NHs) gas 
liquefied, which condition is brought 
about in the same way that air is 
liquefied, and this is by heat ex¬ 
traction and pressure, but what we 
ordinarily call liquid ammonia 
{NHf) is, as I explained before, 
simply ammonia {NHf) gas dis¬ 
solved in water {H2O), and con¬ 
centrated liquid ammonia is water 
{H2O) in which the largest possible 
amount of ammonia {NHf) gas is 
dissolved. 

You can make a small quantity of concentrated liquid 
ammonia {NH£)H) by putting a little distilled water 
{H2O) into aU-tube and setting this in a beaker of ice-water 
{H2O), as shown in Fig. 107. One end of the U-tube is 
connected with the delivery pipe of your ammonia {NHf) 
generating apparatus that is shown in Fig. 103, and the 
other end of it is closed with a cork in which you have in¬ 
serted the tube of a pipette. As water {H2O) increases 
from 100 volumes in its normal condition to 175 volumes 
when it is saturated with ammonia {NHf) gas, the U-tube 



Fig. 106. —An Ammonia- 
Operated Fountain. 




























A PAIR OF SMELLY GASES 


115 


must not be more than one-third full of water (H2O) to start 
with. 

How the Experiment Works. When the ammonia 
(NHz) is passed very slowly into the U-tube the water 
{H2O) will rise in the arm of it that contains the pipette, 



Fig. 107.—Apparatus for Making Concentrated Liquid Ammonia. 


and the pressure of the gas will make the water {H2O) 
absorb the largest possible amount, and a saturated solu¬ 
tion will result. You will know when the water {H2O) 
has absorbed all the ammonia (N gas it can by the 
expansion of it, causing it almost to touch the cork that 



















116 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


has the pipette in it. The resulting solution will be con¬ 
centrated liquid ammonia {NH^0H), it will be very 

strong indeed. 

An Experiment with Concentrated Liquid Ammonia. 
Put some concentrated liquid ammonia {NHJJH) into a 
test tube and set this in a beaker of melting ice {H2O), and 
it will be cooled to a temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit, 
which is the freezing point. When it is thoroughly chilled, 

pour it into a beaker and set 
this in a warm room; now when 
it reaches a temperature of 62 
degrees Fahrenheit it will begin 
to boil and give off ammonia 
{NH^ gas; as soon as it ceases 
boiling and giving off gas, grip 
the beaker with the palm of your 
hand, as shown in Fig. 108, and 
the heat of the hand will make 
the liquid ammonia {NH^OH) 
boil again and give off still more 
gas. 

Some Uses of Aqua Ammonia. Ammonia {NH4PH) 
is used in small amounts in the household as a remedy for 
headache (aspirin or phenacetine is better), for polishing 
metals, for cleaning clothes, and for softening water. It 
is used in larger amounts commercially for refrigeration, 
in which the gas is liquefied by pressure and cooled by 
running it through a coiled pipe in cold water. 

The liquid ammonia {NH^OH) then drips through a 
nozzle in the end of the pipe, causing evaporation. This 



Fig. 108. —Boiling Ammonia 
with the Heat of Your 
Hand. 






















A PAIR OF SMELLY GASES 


117 


takes the heat out of a salt solution, or brine, in which there 
are suspended cans that are filled with pure water; in this 
way the temperature of the brine is reduced below the 
freezing point and the water {H2O) in the cans freezes into 
cakes of ice {H2O). Finally, ammonia is used for making 
compounds of various kinds, including fertilizers. 


CHAPTER VII. 


ACIDS, THE GREAT SOLVENTS 

While water {H2O) is the greatest of all solvents, still 
there are many substances which it will not dissolve, and 
acids of different kinds must be used instead. All acids 
are alike in at least four respects, and these are that they 
have a sour taste, change blue litmus paper red, contain 
hydrogen {H), and, finally, metals dissolve in them, causing 
the acids to give up their hydrogen {H). 

Acids are usually formed of gases which are dissolved in 
water {H20)j and acid solutions of this kind will dissolve 
metals. Weak acids which are called dilute acids, con¬ 
tain as high as 80 per cent of water {H2O); stronger 
acids, called commercial acids, have about 7 per cent of 
water {H2O) in them, while concentrated acids have the 
smallest possible amount of water {H2O) in them. It is 
vefy seldom that the water ( H2O) which forms a part of an 
acid has any effect on the substances to be acted upon and, 
hence, it is not taken into consideration in the reactions. 

The most useful acid is sulphuric acid {H2S0^), then 
comes hydrochloric acid (HCl), and this is followed by 
nitric acid (H N^Oz ); and then there are more than 50 other 
kinds which have a less extensive use. Now, like all other 
chemicals, you can buy the acids you need a great deal 

118 


ACIDS, THE GREAT SOLVENTS 


119 


cheaper than you can make them yourself, but still you 
should make them for the experience that will accrue to you. 

About Sulphuric Acid. Sulphuric acid (H2SO4), the 
common name of which is oil of vitriol^ is a thick, oily liquid 
that is nearly twice as heavy as water {H2O). It is the 
most difficult of all the common acids to make in the labora¬ 
tory, but with a little patience you can do it. The start 
has to be made with sulphur dioxide {SO2)^ a colorless gas 
that is more than twice as heavy as air, and 80 volumes of 
it will dissolve in i volume of water {H2O). This gas is 
easily made when sulphur {S) is heated in the air, causing 
it to combine with the oxygen (0) of the latter. 

Next, the sulphur dioxide {SO2) must be converted into 
sulphur trioxide {SOf), which is a colorless, volatile liquid, 
and this is done by heating the sulphur dioxide {SO2) and 
more oxygen ( 0 ) together at a high temperature. Another 
atom of oxygen (0) then combines with each molecule 
of it and so converts it into a different substance. The 
vapor of the sulphur trioxide {SOf) is then conducted to a 
vessel which is kept cold, and it will liquefy into concen¬ 
trated sulphuric acid {H2S0f). 

The Easiest Way to Make Sulphuric Acid. Take a 
dozen pieces of cotton thread, each about 3 inches long, 
dip them into melted sulphur ( 5 ), and when they are cold 
tie them to one end of an iron wire about 6 inches long. 
Now push the other end of the wire into a cork and then 
put as much water {H2O) as will fill a small test tube into 
a pint bottle. This done, light the sulphur {S) on the end 
of the wire, push the wire into the bottle, and cork it up, 
as shown in Fig. 109. 


120 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


f 


When the vapor of the burning sulphur (S) fills the bot¬ 
tle, dip a thin pine stick into some strong nitric acid (H NO^ 
and hold it in it, as shown in Fig. no. Instantly the nitric 
acid {HNO^ will decompose and the nitric oxide {N2O) 



which is formed will combine with the oxygen (0) and 
form nitrogen peroxide (WO2). Let the bottle stand for 
10 to 15 minutes and then shake it. The vapors will be 
absorbed by the water {H2O). The solution that results 
is dilute sulphuric acid (H2SOA), and you can test it by 



































































ACIDS, THE GREAT SOLVENTS 


121 


dipping a piece of blue litmus paper in it. The paper will 
then turn red. 

A Better Way to Make Sulphuric Acid. Here is another 
way to make a little dilute sulphuric acid (7/2^04), and a 
better one than that just described. Put i ounce of potas¬ 
sium nitrate {KNOs)^ or nitre, as it is called, and 2 ounces 
of sulphur ( 5 ) into a little cup and set it on a block of wood, 
or other support, which is about i inch high, in a saucer of 



BEAKER 


Fig. III. —A Better Way to Make Dilute Sulphuric Acid. 


water (H2O). Now light the mixture and set a larger 
beaker over the cup in the water, and it will be air-tight, 
as shown in Fig. iii. The action produces nitrogen perox¬ 
ide {NO2), as in the foregoing experiment, and this is 
absorbed by the water {H2O), thus forming dilute sulphuric 
acid (H2SO4). To prove it is an acid, test it with a piece 
of litmus paper as before. 

Another Method for Making Sulphuric Acid. Take I 
ounce of sulphur trioxide (SOz), which is a compound formed 















122 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


of white silky crystals that look very much like the fibres 
of asbestos. This must be kept in a bottle with a glass 
stopper until you are ready to use it, as it fumes strongly 
when it comes in contact with the air. Put the sulphur 
trioxide (5O3) into i pint of water (H'20), and it will dis¬ 
solve, in doing which it will make a hissing sound and set 
up a large amount of heat. The resulting solution formed 
by the reaction is sulphuric acid (H2SO4). 

A Laboratory Method for Making Sulphuric Acid. To 
make sulphuric acid {H2SO4) by the process that is gen¬ 
erally used in school laboratories, you have to begin with 
oxygen ( 0 ) and sulphur dioxide ( 502 ), then change these 
into sulphur trioxide (SO^), and, finally, dissolve this in 
water {H2O). Sulphuric acid {H2SO4) results. 

How to Make Sulphur Dioxide. Put i ounce of copper 
turnings (Cu) into a pint flask and pour 2 ounces of concen¬ 
trated sulphuric acid {H2SO4) on them; this done, put a 
cork that has a delivery tube in it in the flask and heat the 
latter gently, and sulphur dioxide {SO2) will be given off. 
Just as soon as the gas begins to pass over, raise the flask 
above the flame high enough so that the gas will flow from 
the delivery tube in a steady stream. Couple the delivery 
tube with a wash-bottle, and then you are ready to connect 
it with the apparatus for making sulphur trioxide (5O3). 
See Fig. 112. 

How to Make Sulphur Trioxide. Sulphur trioxide 
(5O3), as its formula shows, has i more atom of oxygen in 
each of its molecules than sulphur dioxide {SO2) has, and 
to add this extra atom of oxygen ( 0 ) you need the follow¬ 
ing piece of apparatus. Having your oxygen (O)-generat- 



Fig. 112.—Laboratory Method for Making Sulphuric Acid. 




































124 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


ing apparatus, which I described in Chapter III, and the 
sulphur-dioxide (SO2) apparatus, just described, set up and 
ready for action, put 2 ounces of ferric oxide^ {Fe20s), or 
iron oxide, as it is usually called and which is common iron 
rust, into a glass or iron tube 3 ^ inch or ^ inch in diameter 
and 8 inches long, one end of which is drawn out to a point 
to form a nozzle. 

Now push the delivery tubes of both the gas generators 
into the mouth of the glass or iron tube and close it up with 
a piece of soft clay; now heat the iron oxide {Fe20^) with a 
Bunsen burner, or, better, a couple of them (an alcohol 
flame is not hot enough), and then start the generators 
going and the oxygen ( 0 ) and sulphur dioxide {SO2) will 
combine and form sulphur trioxide (vSOs), which will pass 
off through the nozzle of the delivery tube. 

How to Make Sulphuric Acid. To make sulphuric acid 
{H2SO4) you need only to set the nozzle end of the tube 
into a beaker containing a little ice-water (£^20), and as the 
sulphur trioxide (SOz) flows out through the former it con¬ 
denses into sulphuric acid {H2SO4). The complete apparatus 
for generating the oxygen ( 0 ) and sulphur dioxide {SO2), 
changing these into sulphur trioxide (SOz), and finally col¬ 
lecting this as sulphuric acid {H2S04),is shown in Fig. 112. 

How the Experiment Works. There are certain sub- 

J This acts as a contact agent, or catalytic agent, which is explained in Chap¬ 
ter III under the caption of “A Way to Make More Oxygen."' In making 
sulphur trioxide {SOz), platinized asbestos is a better contact agent than 
ferric oxide (FeOz), and it is also much more expensive. 

Platinized asbestos is made by soaking the fibers of asbestos, or mineral 
wool, as it is commonly called, in chloroplatinic acid ( H2 PtClz ); this acid is 
made by dissolving platinum {Pt) in aqua regia, and this, in turn, is made by 
mixing hydrochloric acid (HCl) with nitric acid (HNOz). 


ACIDS, THE GREAT SOLVENTS 


125 


stances, such as oxygen ( 0 ) and sulphur dioxide {SO2), 
which combine very much better with each other when 
they are brought into contact with some other substance 
as, for instance, iron oxide {Fe20^\ the latter, curiously 
enough, does not in any way combine with them and, hence, 
it remains itself unchanged. Such substances are called 
catalyzers or catalytic agents, while the process itself is called 
catalysis. This way of making sulphuric acid {H2S0^ is 
known as the contact process. 

The reactions that take place in making sulphuric acid 
{H2S0^ by the contact process are these: The copper 
{Cu) acting on the sulphuric acid {H2SO4) gives copper 
sulphate {CuSOi), or blue vitriol, as it is called, and water 
{H2O) which substances remain behind in the flask while 
the sulphur dioxide {SO2) gas passes off through the delivery 
tube. The reaction may be more easily shown by this 
equation: 

H2SO4 + Cu — CuSOi + II2O + SO2 T 

Sulphuric Copper Copper Water Sulphur A gas 

acid sulphate dioxide 

The arrow pointing upward shows that the resultant pro- 
di^:t is a gas. 

EXPERIMENTS WITH SULPHURIC ACID. 

How to Change Sugar into Carbon. Put a couple of 
pieces of lump sugar {Ci2H220n) in a beaker and pour a 
tablespoonful of boiling water {H2O) on them; now add a 
few drops of sulphuric acid {H2SO4) to the solution and 
it will begin to boil. The hydrogen (H) and the oxygen 


126 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


(0) of the sugar (Ci2-H^220ii) combine and form water 
(JT2O), while the carbon (C) in it is left behind. 

How to Write Indelibly on Cotton Goods. Write your 
name on a piece of white muslin with dilute sulphuric acid 
{H2S0^) and then quickly wash it out well, and there will 
be no apparent change in the muslin. This done, heat the 
muslin so that the water (H2O) in it is driven off, while the 
trace of sulphuric acid (H2SO4) that still remains in the 
fibres decomposes them and makes them black, and no 
amount of washing will ever take the color out. 

How to Make Copperas. To make ferrous sulphate 
{FeSO^) or copperas, green vitriol, or iron sulphate, as it is 
variously known, put a dozen iron {Fe) shingle nails in a 
flask and add enough dilute sulphuric acid {H2S0^ (i part 
of water {H2O) to 5 parts of acid) to cover them. Now 
warm the flask a little over the flame of your alcohol lamp, 
and when all the hydrogen {H) has been set free, pour the 
clear liquid off into a beaker. This done, add a few drops 
of dilute sulphuric aicd {H2S0^ to it, then heat it until 
half of it has boiled away and let it cool, and green crystals 
of copperas {FeSO^ will be formed in it. Finally pour off 
the liquid and lay the crystals on a sheet of blotting paper 
to dry. 

How to Make Blue Vitriol. Cupric sulphate (CuSO^), 
or copper sulphate, or blue vitriol, as it is more often called, 
comes in the form of large blue crystals. Like the crystals 
of copperas {FeSO^ above described, blue vitriol (CuSOi) 
contains a large amount of water of crystallization (see 
Chapter IV), and when the crystals lose this they lose their 
color, and become what is called white vitriol, v But just as 


ACIDS, THE GREAT SOLVENTS 


127 


soon as water {H2O) touches them again, they take on a 
blue color. To make copper sulphate {CuSO^^ crystals, 
let some dilute sulphuric acid {H2SO^ trickle over copper 
{Cu) borings, or, better, granulated copper {Cu), in the 
presence of air. 

How to Make Epsom Salts. The chemical name for 
Epsom salts is magnesium sulphate (MgSO4), and to make a 
little of it dissolve i ounce of magnesium carbonate (AlgCO^) 
— that is magnesite — in dilute sulphuric acid {H2SO^, 
filter it through filter paper placed in a funnel, and catch 
it in a small porcelain dish. Now heat this gently over 
the flame of your lamp or burner until the crystals separate 
from it, and then dry them on blotting paper. You will 
then have a dose of the famous Epsom salts that have long 
been used as a laxative. 

About Nitric Acid. When sodium nitrate {NaNO^ or 
Chili saltpeter j as it is commonly called, or potassium nitrate 
{KNO^j which is Bengal saltpeter^ is acted upon by any 
kind of an acid nitric acid {HNO^ is formed. Since 
sodium nitrate (NaNOz) is the cheapest nitrate and sul¬ 
phuric acid (H2SO4) is the cheapest acid, they are always 
used for making nitric acid {H NOz). 

Pure nitric acid {ENO^ is a colorless liquid that fumes 
when it is set in the open air. Commercial nitric acid 
{HNO^ contains 68 per cent of the acid and the rest is 
water (L72O), and when you buy commercial nitric acid 
(LZ'A^Os), this is the strength you get. If you really want 
concentrated nitric acid {HNO^, then you must buy pure 
acid. 

How to Make Nitric Acid. It is as easy to make nitric 


128 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


acid {H NO3) as it is hard to make sulphuric acid (H2S04)^ 
In fact, if you have sulphuric acid {H2SO4) to start with, 
it is easy to make almost any other kind of acid. To make 
some nitric acid (HNO3), put i ounce of sodium nitrate 
{NaNOz)j which is a salt of the metal sodium (iYa), and 



Fig. 113.—How to Make Nitric Acid. 


3^ ounce of concentrated sulphuric acid (H2SO4) into a 
retort and set your lamp or burner under it; this done, 
put the mouth of the delivery tube into a test tube and 
set this in a beaker of cold water, all of which is shown in 
Fig. 113. Now light the lamp or burner, and the mixture 
in the retort will give off. nitric acid (H NO^ as a vapor^ 
and this is condensed in the test tube. 
























ACIDS, THE GREAT SOLVENTS 


129 


How the Experiment Works. After you have made the 
nitric acid (HN^O^) you will find a substance, or residue^ 
as it is called, left over in the retort. Now when the sodium 
nitrate {NaNO^ and the sulphuric acid are 

heated together they combine and form sodium sulphate 
(N'aHSO4), which, is the residue, and nitric acid (HNOs)y 
which passes over as a vapor and is condensed into a liquid 
in the test tube. The reaction can be more easily shown 
by the equation: 

NaNOs + H2SO4 = NaHS 04 + H NO^ 

Sodium Sulphuric Sodium Nitric 

nitrate acid sulphate acid 

Experiments with Nitric Acid. After water (^^20), 
nitric acid (H NO^ will dissolve the most substances, and 
many of them that water {H2O) has little or no effect upon, 
such as the heavy metals. Not only this, but nearly all 
the compounds that are formed by the action of the metals 
and other substances on nitric acid (HNO3) will dissolve 
in water (H2O). 

An Experiment in Spontaneous Combustion. Put a 
little fuming nitric acid {HNO^) in a test tube, then wad 
up some woolen yarn and push it half-way down in the tube. 
In a little while the yarn will catch fire, and after it has 
burned up a white substance will be left in the tube. When 
you make this experiment hold the test tube with your clip 
in a beaker, so that in case it should break the acid will not 
do any damage. 

The Action of Nitric Acid on Metals. When nitric acid 
(HNOz) acts on metals it dissolves them and forms salts 
that are called nitrates; thus when nitric acid {HNO3) acts 


130 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


on copper {Cu), copper nitrate {Cu{NO^'^ is formed; when 
it acts on silver (Ag), silver nitrate (AgNO^) is formed, and 
so on, and all these salts will dissolve in water {H2O), 

Cut a silver (Ag) ten-cent piece into bits, put them into 
a large test tube and add just enough concentrated nitric 
acid (HNO^) to cover them. Now hold the test tube 
over the flame of your alcohol lamp and heat it gently. 
Colored gases then will be formed, the silver {Ag) will dis¬ 
solve, and in its place white crystals will be found which are 
formed of silver {Ag), nitrogen (A^), and oxygen ( 0 ), and 
this is silver nitrate {AgNOz). 

How the Experiment Works. When nitric acid {H NOs) 
acts on the silver (. 4 ^), it gives up part of its hydrogen {H) 
and oxygen ( 0 ) and leaves silver nitrate {AgNO^ and water 
{H2O) remaining in the tube. If now you will evaporate 
the solution, the water {H2O) will pass off as a vapor and 
crystals of silver nitrate {AgNO:^ alone will remain in the 
tube. 

About Hydrochloric Acid. Since hydrochloric acid 
{HCl-^ H2O), or muriatic acid, as it is commonly called, or 
spirit of salt, which is its old-time name, is very widely used 
in the arts, it is a good thing to know something about it. 
In its pure state it is a colorless gas called hydrogen chloride 
{HCl), and when this is exposed to the air it fumes, espe¬ 
cially in moist air; it has a sour taste which is common to 
all acids, a strong, pungent odor, and it is very corrosive; 
further, it has a very great affinity for water {H2O), and 
I volume of the latter will absorb 500 volumes of the gas. 

What we call hydrochloric acid {HCl-]- H2O) is then 
hydrogen chloride {HCl) that is dissolved in water {H2O), 


ACIDS, THE GREAT SOLVENTS 


131 


and the formula for it is usually given as {HCl) since this 
is the form of it that is generally known, and the H^O to 
show that it is a solution is not considered necessary. Wlien 
the hydrogen chloride {HCl) and the water {H2O) are both 
pure, the hydrochloric acid (H Cl) formed of them is color¬ 
less, but the acid that is sold for commercial purposes has a 
yellowish color due to the impurities in it. As hydrochloric 
acid {HCl) is made of sodium chloride {NaCl), that is, 
common salt, and sulphuric 3 icid{H2SOi) it is very cheap, 
and as it is a most useful acid it is made in large quantities. 

HOW TO MAKE HYDROCHLORIC ACID. 

To Make Hydrogen Chloride. Put I ounce of sodium 
chloride (A^aC/)into a flask and then mix 3^ ounce of water 
( H2O) with I Yi ounces of sulphuric acid ( H2S0^ in a beaker. 
Now fit a cork that has a funnel and a delivery tube in it 
into the flask and let the end of the tube dip into a test 
tube, as shown in Fig. 114. 

This done, pour the solution of sulphuric acid {H2SO^ 
slowly into the flask and heat it gently over the flame of 
your lamp or burner, and the solution will boil at a great 
rate. This action causes sodium sulphate {Na2SO^ to be 
formed, while the bubbles that rise up through the solution 
and break on reaching the surface are the hydrogen chloride 
gas {HCl)j and this passes out of the delivery tube. 

To Make Hydrochloric Acid. To change the hydrogen 
chloride {HCl) into hydrochloric acid {HCl), it is only 
necessary to fill the test tube with water {H2O) and let the 
free end of the delivery tube dip into it while the gas is being 
generated. 


132 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


How the Experiment Works. If you have used the right 
proportions of sulphuric acid {H2SQi) and water {H2O) 
in making the hydrogen chloride (HCl) and have heated 
them very gently, all that will be left in the flask will be 



sodium sulphate (Na HSO4),which is a white solid substance. 
That is to say, the reaction of the sodium chloride (NaCl) 
and the sulphuric acid (H2SOi) makes sodium sulphate 
(NaHSOi) and hydrogen chloride (HCl), and when this 


































ACIDS, THE GREAT SOLVENTS 


133 


is dissolved in water {H2O) the solution becomes hydro¬ 
chloric acid {HCl). The following equation shows it in a 
more simple way. 

NaCl + H^SO^ = NaSOi HCl T 

Sodium Sulphuric Sodium Hydrochloric A gas 

chloride acid sulphate acid 

EXPERIMENTS WITH HYDROCHLORIC ACID. 

How to Make a Hydrogen Chloride Fountain. Fill a 
dry flask with hydrogen chloride {HCl) and fit into the 
neck of it a cork having a glass 
tube in it, one end of which is 
drawn out into a nozzle, and also 
a pipette filled with water {H20)y 
the jet of which is closed with a 
bit of soft wax. Now dip the out¬ 
side 'end of the long tube into a 
beaker of water ( H2O) and you are 
ready to make the experiment. 

Blow the wax out of the end of 
the pipette by pinching the bulb, 
and it will send a little stream of 
water {H2O) into the flask; the 
water will absorb so much of the 
gas that a partial vacuum is 
formed in the flask. The pressure 

of the outside air on the water 
{H2O) in the beaker will then Fig. ns.-A Hydrogen Chloride 

r . 11 1 • 1 Fountain. 

force it up the tube and into the 

flask, where it will break into a spray, as shown in Fig. 115. 
The Great Smoke Experiment. Fill a wide-mouth bottle 








































134 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


with hydrogen chloride {HCl) by inserting the free end of 
the delivery tube of the generator in it, and then grease a 
sheet of glass and lay it on top of the bottle. Now fill 
another bottle with dry ammonia gas as explained 

in Chapter VI, and close it with a 
sheet of greased glass also and then 
set one bottle on the other with their 
mouths together, as shown in Fig. 116. 

To the onlookers, both bottles will 
appear to be perfectly empty, but 
when you pull out the sheets of glass 
the gases will rush together and form 
a dense vapor that looks exactly like 
smoke, and this substance is am¬ 
monium chloride or sal 

ammoniac^ as it is ordinarily called. 
A good magical experiment can be 
performed with a little hydrochloric 
acid {HCl) and concentrated liquid 
ammonia {N H 5), and the effect and 
cause you will find explained in 
Chapter XIII. 

How the Experiment Works. In 

this experiment the ammonia gas {NH3) and the hydrogen 
chloride {HCl) simply combine and make ammonium 
chloride {NFIiCl), which is in the form of a fine white 
powder. 

How the Make a Good Soldering Fluid. To make some 
soldering fluid, cut up a piece of sheet zinc {Zn) into bits, 
put them into an earthenware bowl, and then pour on 



Fig. 116,— The Great 
Smoke Experiment. 














































ACIDS, THE GREAT SOLVENTS 


135 


enough hydrochloric acid {ECl) to cover them. When 
the zinc {Zn) is dissolved, the solution makes a good 
soldering fluid. 

How the Experiment Works. When zinc {Zn) is dis¬ 
solved in more hydrochloric acid {HCl) than is needed, 
zinc chloride {ZnCl^ is formed, and this remains in the 
solution. To obtain the zinc chloride (ZnCh), the solution 
must be evaporated, and the salt will remain behind. Now 
by dissolving this in water {H2O) you can also make a good 
soldering fluid. 

How to Make Imitation Emeralds. Put a few iron (Fe) 
nails into an earthenware bowl and pour on enough hydro¬ 
chloric acid {HCl) to cover them. WTen the nails are 
dissolved and the solution is yet hot, filter it into a narrow- 
neck bottle, and solid green crystals that, with a little imagi¬ 
nation, look like emeralds, will separate from it, and these 
are formed of ferrous chloride {FeCl). 

How the Experiment Works. The reaction in this ex¬ 
periment is as follows: The iron {Fe) and the hydrochloric 
acid {HCl) form ferrous chloride {FeCl) and hydrogen {H), 
which is set free. When written as an equation you can 
see the reaction at a glance: 

Fe + HCl = FeCl + H T 

Iron Hydrochloric Ferrous Hydrogen A gas 

acid chloride 

How to Make Aqua Regia. The term aqua regia comes 
from two Latin words which mean ^Vater” and ^‘royal”, or 
^Toyal water”. It was so called by the early chemists because 
it is the only known compound that will dissolve gold {Au) 
and platinum {Pt), which were and are the noble metals. 


136 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


Aqua regia is therefore a solvent that possesses remarkable 
properties, and to make it, all you need to do is to mix one 
part of concentrated nitric acid (H AO3) and three parts of 
hydrochloric acid ( H Cl) in an earthenware bowl.- • 

About Fluorine and Hydrofluoric Acid. Fluorine (F) is 
a greenish-yellow gas and at room temperature it is the 
most active element known, for there are very few sub¬ 
stances that it will not attack and combine with. The 
exceptions are oxygen ( 0 ), nitrogen (A), chlorine (C/), 
platinum {Pt), and those elements of the helium {He) 
family. 

Moreover, it combines usually with all the other elements 
of its own accord when it is brought into contact with them, 
and without the application of heat to help the reaction 
along. The most interesting experiments with fluorine 
are due to its property of attacking glass (Aa20, CaO, SiO<^ 
and other silicate compounds, and the conversion of water 
{H2O) into ozone (O3). 

Fluorine (F) is found chiefly in calcium fluoride (CaF2), 
which is ordinarily called fluor-spar^ and also in combina¬ 
tion with sodium {Na) and aluminum {Al) in a mineral 
called cryolite {Na^AlF. Hydrofluoric acid (A2F2), is 
formed when sulphuric acid ( HoSOf) is made to react with 
fluor-spar {CaFf). 

How to Etch Glass. To etch on glass {Na^O^CaO^ SiOf)^ 
you have to make some hydrofluoric acid (A2F2), and an 
easy way to do this is to take a sheet of lead {Ph) 5 inches 
wide and 8 inches long and bend up its edges i inch all 
around to form a tray, as shown in Fig. 117. Now put 2 
ounces of powdered calcium fluoride {CaFf)^ that is, fluor- 


ACIDS, THE GREAT SOLVENTS 


137 


spar, into the lead tray and add enough sulphuric acid 
{H2SOi) to make thin paste of it. 

This done, melt some paraffin wax, pour it on the sheet 
of glass which you want to engrave, run it all over the sur¬ 
face and drain it off at one corner,and a thin film of the 



Fig. 117.—How to Etch Glass with Hydrofluoric Acid. 

wax will remain on it. This done, take a darning needle 
and scratch a name or a picture on the film of wax with 
the head of it so that the lines go clear through and expose 
the glass {Na^O.CaO, SiO<^. Now set the glass (Na20, 
CuO, SiO^ with the waxed surface down on the tray, light 
your alcohol lamp and gently heat the paste. The fumes 
That are given off are hydrogen fluoride (^2/^2), and this 
attacks the glass {Na^O^CaO, SiO<^ and eats it away. 
After you have exposed it to the fumes for half an hour or 




















138 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


SO, wash off the wax with turpentine and you will see the 
name or picture etched into the glass {Na20,Ca0^ SiO^). 

An Easier Way to Etch on Glass. An easier way to 
etch on glass (Aa20, CaO, SiO^^ is to buy some hydrofluoric 
acid (^'2^2+ H2O), which is simply hydrogen fluoride 
{H2F2) gas dissolved in water {H2O). This is sold in rub¬ 
ber bottles, as the acid does not attack rubber to 

any great extent. Coat the glass (Na20,Ca0j SiO^ with 
paraffin wax and scratch a name or draw a picture on and 
through the film with a needle as before, and then build 
up a little wax ridge all around the plate, lay it on a table, 
and with your pipette cover the scratched-in lines with the 
acid. Let it remain on the plate over night, then wash 
the wax off with turpentine, and the surface of the exposed 
parts of the glass (Aa20,Ca0, Si02) will be found to be 
etched awav. 

How to Change Water into Ozone. If you will turn 
back to the last part of Chapter II, you will see that ozone 
(O3) is produced when electric sparks are made to take 
place in air. To change the oxygen ( 0 ) of water {H2O) 
into ozone (O3), fill a tube with fluorine (F), and as this gas 
is heavier than the air in the tube, the latter can be held 
right side up. Now let a single drop of water {H2O) fall 
into the tube of fluorine {F) with your pipette, and the 
oxygen (0) of the water {H2O) will be turned to ozone (O3). 


CHAPTER VIII. 


WHAT BASES AND SALTS ARE. 

In the previous chapter I told you about acids, and in 
this chapter I shall tell you about bases and salts. Now 
though these three compounds are entirely unlike each other, 
still they are very closely related, for salts are formed by 
the action of acids on bases. While it is easy to tell an acid 
if it is a fairly strong one by testing it with litmus paper, 
some acids are so weak that they have no effect whatever 
on it, but the fact that they form salts when they are brought 
into contact with bases shows that they are really acids. 

While you may never have heard of bases before, you 
have often seen them, for they go under the familiar names 
of lime ( Ca (0 H) f), soda lye ( NaO H) , and potash lye ( KO H ), 
and these compounds all go under the general heading of 
alkalis. These bases are formed by dissolving metals of 
various kinds in water (Z/'20),and the compounds which 
result easily cut grease and have a very corrosive, or caustic, 
action on the skin and flesh. It is just possible that you 
did not know there were any metals which would dissolve 
in water {H^O)', well, there are a few, though these are not 
at all common in their pure state and, hence, they are sel¬ 
dom seen outside of the laboratory, but they are quite 
plentiful in the various compounds that nature provides, 

as you will presently see. These metals are calcium {Ca), 

139 




140 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


sodium (Na), potassium (K), and some others, all of which 
I shall tell you about in the next chapter. 

Finally, a salt is a compound that is formed when an 
acid and a base combine and during the reaction of which 
all, or a part, of the hydrogen (H) of the acid is replaced 
by the atoms of the metal; in this case the hydrogen (H) 
is set free just as it is when zinc (Zn) or iron (Fe) is dis¬ 
solved in an acid. 

What the Bases Are. As I mentioned above, the three 
bases that are the most used and, hence, the best known, 
are caustic lime {Ca{OH)^, caustic soda {NaOH), and 
caustic potash {KOH). Now, as you know, water {H2O) 
consists of hydrogen {H) and oxygen ( 0 ); calcium (Ca) 
is a very light metal, and when it is thrown into water 
{H2O) it dissolves; in doing so it sets some of the hydrogen 
{H) of the water {H2O) free and takes its place, and the 
compound thus formed is called calcium hydroxide 
{Ca(pH)2), or caustic lime, or slaked lime, which are its 
common names. 

The word hydroxide means, simply, that the base con¬ 
tains both hydrogen (H) and oxygen ( 0 ). Thus calcitim 
hydroxide has the formula {CaiOH)^^ sodium hydroxide 
has the formula {NaOH), and potassium hydroxide the 
formula {KOH). The most common properties of bases 
are their alkaline taste and their power to neutralize acids, 
that is, to take away their acid qualities. 

What the Salts Are. Now when you bring an acid and 
a base together, the first result of the action they set up is 
the formation of water (iT20), and the second is the forma¬ 
tion of a salt. Thus when you make hydrochloric acid 


WHAT BASES AND SALTS ARE 


141 


(HCl) act on sodium hydroxide (NaOH), water {H2O) is 
formed and also a salt that is called sodium chloride (NaCl), 
which is common table salt. Sodium nitrate {NaNO^ is 
formed by the action of nitric acid {H NOs) on sodium 
hydroxide {NaOH)j potassium chloride (KCl) is formed 
by the action of hydrochloric acid (HCl) on potassium 
hydroxide (KOH), potassium nitrate (KNOz) by the 
action of nitric acid (H NOz) on potassium hydroxide 
{KOH)j and so on. 

How to Make Calcium Hydroxide. Calcium hydroxide 
{Ca(p H) 2) in spite of its big name is simply slaked lime. To 
make it, you start with calcium oxide(CaO), which is quick¬ 
lime ^ and this is made by burning limestone (CaCOz) in a 
kiln. Calcium oxide (CaO) or quicklime, is a very white, 
porous solid, and when water {H2O) is poured on it, they 
unite and a great deal of heat is evolved, and this converts 
some of the water {H2O) into steam. 

To make a little calcium hydroxide (Ca (0 7^)2), get some 
pieces of fresh quicklime, that is calcium oxide (CaO), put 
them in an earthen bowl and pour a little hot water {H2O) 
over them. They will then unite, and the powder which 
is left is calcium hydroxide {Ca{OH)^j or slaked lime. 

How the Experiment Works. The action can be shown 
thus: 

CaO + H2O = Ca( 0 11)2 

Calcium oxide Water Calcium hydroxide 

How to Make Sodium Hydroxide. Sodium hydroxide 
(NaOH) is caustic soda, or soda lye, and it is largely used 
for making soaps from fats. To make sodium hydroxide 
(WaOTT),half fill a test tube with water ( 7 ^ 20 ), and then dis- 


142 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


solve in it teaspoonful of sodium carbonate 
the common name of which is sal soda and which is often 
called just soda for short, and the same amount of calcium 
oxide {CaO). 

Now hold the test tube over the flame of your lamp or 
burner for two or three minutes and then put it in the test- 
tube rack and let it stay there until the solution is perfectly 
clear. To show that it is an alkali, dip the end of a strip 
of red litmus paper into it and it will turn blue. 

How the Experiment Works. The action that takes 
place when it is formed is this: the calcium oxide {CaO) 
and the sodium carbonate {Na2CO^ together with the 
water {H2O) form calcium carbonate (CaCOs), which settles 
to the bottom of the tube and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) 
is the clear liquid above it, or: 

CaO + Na2COs~\- H2O = CaCOz T NaOH 
Calcium oxide Sodium Water Calcium Sodium 

carbonate carbonate hydroxide 

How to Make Potassium Hydroxide. This hydroxide 
{ KOH)j the common names of which are caustic potash, 
potash lye, and just lye for short, can be used for making 
hard soap, but as it is more costly than sodium hydroxide 
{NaOH) it is not used by commercial soap-makers. It is, 
however, a familiar substance in the household and is used 
for cleaning purposes and making soft soap. 

To make potassium hydroxide {KOH), you start with 
potassium carbonate {KCO) or potash, as it is called, or 
you can use wood ashes, which contain considerable amounts 
of it, and, indeed, this used to be the only source from which 
potash, or lye, was obtained. Dissolve i tablespoonful of 


WHAT BASES AND SALTS ARE 


143 


potassium carbonate {K2C0^) or 2 tablespoonfuls of wood 
ashes in a beaker half full of water (//20),and heat this 
over the flame of your lamp until the solution begins to 
boil. 

Now put in I teaspoonful of calcium hydroxide {Ca {0 11 ) 2 ), 
which is slaked lime that has been made with good quick¬ 
lime, and keep stirring the mass with an iron rod. This 
done, let the solution, which is the potassium hydroxide 
(KOH), get cool, and pour it off very carefully into a bot¬ 
tle, after which it is ready to use for your experiments. 
Keep it well corked up, or the air will change it back into 
potassium carbonate (K2CO3). 

How the Experiment Works. The reaction in this case 
is that the potassium carbonate (K2CO3) and calcium 
hydroxide (Ca (0/7)2) form calcium carbonate (CaC03) 
and potassium hydroxide {KOH). As the calcium car¬ 
bonate (CaC03) is insoluble, that is, it will not dissolve in 
the solution, it falls to the bottom, while the potassium 
carbonate (K2CO3) and the calcium hydroxide {Ca{OH)‘^ 
are soluble, that is, they dissolve in the solution, and it 
becomes potassium hydroxide {KOH). 

The reaction is more easily understood from the follow¬ 
ing equation: 

K2CO3 + Ca(OH)2 = CaCO^ i + KOH 

Potassium Calcium Calcium Potassium 

carbonate hydroxide carbonate hydroxide 

Wherever you come to an arrow pointing down in an 
equation it shows that the compound is precipitated. 


144 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


EXPERIMENTS WITH HYDROXIDES. 

How to Make Mortar. Mix equal parts of calcium 
hydroxide {Ca{OH)^, that is, slaked lime^ and sand^ which 
latter is formed largely of silicon dioxide {Si02), and you 
will have a sample of mortar. Now let this stand in the 
air, and the water {H2O) will soon dry out and calcium 
carbonate (CaCOz) is slowly formed, and the mass becomes 
very hard, or sets, as it is called. 

How the Experiment Works. First of all, the sand does 
not act chemically on the lime in any way, but simply 
serves to give it body and to make it porous. As the water 
Xdl20) is drying out from the lime, the latter absorbs carbon 
dioxide (CO2) from the air; this changes the lime into cal¬ 
cium carbonate (CaCOs), and this with the sand makes a 
hard, solid mass. The following equation shows the action 
that takes place: 

Ca( 011^2 4" CO2 ~ CaCOs + H2O 

Calcium Carbon Calcium Water 

hydroxide dioxide carbonate (which dries out) 

Other Things Made with Lime. Plaster is simply cal¬ 
cium hydroxide {Ca {0 11)2), that is, slaked lime mixed with 
hairj which holds it together when the former has changed 
into calcium carbonate {CaCO^. Portland cement is made 
by heating together slaked lime {CaiOH)^ and aluminum 
silicate {Al2Si20ijH20)y which is a hydroxide, and after 
the mass has been fused by the application of heat it is 
rolled to a powder. Concrete is simply Portland cement, 
broken rock, and sand mixed together with water {H2O), 
When this sets, a material results that is as hard as stone 
and that lasts as long. 


WHAT BASES AND SALTS ARE 


145 


How to Make Hard Soap. This is an experiment with 
sodium hydroxide {NaOH) and fat. The fats used for 
making soaps are formed of palmitic acid {Ci^Hz20f) or 
stearic acid and soaps are the alkali salts of the 

acids that are made when the fats are treated with sodium 
hydroxide {NaOH). 

To make a little soap, put a bit of lard^ which is a fat, 
about the size of a hazelnut, into a small saucer or, better, 
a porcelain evaporating-dish, and then pour a teaspoonful 
of wood alcohol (CHfDH) over it. This done, dissolve 
a teaspoonful of sodium hydroxide {NaOH) in a, like amount 
of water (HoO) in a test tube, and then put lo drops of 
this solution into the mixture in the dish. Now heat the 
dish over a low flame until the solution boils and all the 
alcohol (CHsOH) has evaporated, which you will know 
when there is no longer any odor from it; then evaporate 
the solution slowly until a dry mass results, which will, or 
should be, soap. If it is not soap, then put a little more 
alcohol {CHzOH) and sodium hydroxide {NaOH) in the 
dish and boil it again. 

How the Experiment Works. When the sodium hydrox¬ 
ide {NaOH) and the stearic acid (Ci 6 ^ 3202 ), which forms 
the fat, are heated together, the latter is decomposed and 
forms glycerine {CzH^{OH)f) and sodium stearate 
{NaC^^H^Pf), and these together are the soap. The 
alcohol {CHfOH) simply helps the reaction along and does 
not enter chemically into the process. When the reaction 
takes place the fat is said to be saponified and the process 
is called saponification. The following equation shows 
the reaction more clearly: 


146 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


+ NaOH = C.H.iOH), + NaCr.H.P^ 
Stearic acid Sodium Glycerine Sodium stearate 
in fats hydroxide Soap 

How to Make Soft Soap. To make soft soap, you need 
only to mix a little lard with some potassium hydroxide 
(KOH) and boil them, and they will saponify. Potas¬ 
sium hydroxide (KOH) is not used in making soap com¬ 
mercially, because sodium hydroxide {NaOH) is cheaper 
and does the work just as well or better. 

How Soap-and-Water Cleans. When you mix soap and 
soft water {H2O) they make a soap solution and this cleans 
the stains from the goods washed in them by separating the 
vegetable and animal oils and grease and washing out the 
dust and dirt that is in them. The first thing that happens 
when goods are washed in a soap solution is that the soap 
breaks up the oils and grease into little separate particles, 
and then forms a film around each one, like the sugar coat¬ 
ing on a pill. When this is done, the water {H2O) easily 
washes them away. If the goods have mineral oils in them, 
then they must be dry cleansed, that is, cleaned with benzine 
or gasoline, which dissolves the oils. 

When the clothes are dirty, it means simply that they 
have a large amount of particles of carbon (C) on and in 
them, and much of this is soot. When the soap solution 
comes into close contact with them, which it does when 
the clothes are boiled and rubbed, the particles of dirt are 
easily washed away by rinsing the clothes in water {H2O). 

HOW TO MAKE VARIOUS SALTS. 

How to Make Sodium Chloride. Since you can buy a 
pound of sodium chloride {NaCl), that is, common table 


WHAT BASES AND SALTS ARE 


147 


salt, for a few cents it is not good economy to make it, but 
it is well worth your while to do so for the experience it will 
give you. To make a little, dissolve a tablespoonful of 
sodium hydroxide (NaOH), that is, caustic soda, in a small 
beaker half full of water (H^O). 

Now fill a test tube one-fourth full of water (H 2 O) and 
add an equal amount of hydrochloric acid (HCl). This 
done, pour the dilute acid, a very little at a time, into the 
solution of caustic soda {NaOH) and keep testing it with 
blue litmus paper right along; the instant it changes the 
paper from blue to red add a few drops of caustic soda 
(NaOH), and it will be neutral, that is, it will be neither 
acid nor alkali and hence, it will not change blue litmus 
paper red nor red paper blue. 

When this point is reached, pour the solution from the 
beaker into a porcelain dish and evaporate it over a water 
bath until there is nothing left but a white residue which 
is neither an alkali nor an acid but a salt, and this is sodium 
chloride (NaCl). 

How the Experiment Works. The reaction that takes 
place is clearly shown by the following equation: 

HCl + NaOH ^ NaCl + H^O 

Hydrochloric acid Sodium Sodium Water 

hydroxide chloride 

How to Make Sodium Sulphate. Put a little sodium 
chloride {NaCl), into a test tube and pour on enough sul¬ 
phuric acid {H2S0^ to cover it. Now hold it over the 
flame of your lamp or burner, and very soon hydrochloric 
acid gas (H Cl) and sodium sulphate ( Na 2 SO ^, the common 


148 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


name of which is Glauber^s salt, will be formed; the gas will, 
of course, escape and the salt will be left behind. 

How the Experiment Works. The following equation 
shows the reaction: 

NaCl + E2SO4. = Na2SOA + HCl \ 

Sodium Sulphuric acid Sodium Hydrochloric 

chloride sulphate acid gas 

How to Make Sodium Nitrate. To make some sodium 
nitrate {NaNO^, which is commonly called Chili saltpetre, 
proceed exactly as described in the above experiment, but 
use nitric acid ( 11NO^ and caustic soda (NaO H) instead. 
The reaction that takes place gives sodium nitrate {NaNO:^ 
and water {H2O). 

How the Experiment Works. The following equation 
shows what takes place: 

ENO^ + NaOE = NaNO^ + E2O 
Nitric acid Caustic soda Sodium nitrate Water 

The solution must be evaporated, and when the water 
{E2O) has passed off, the sodium nitrate (NaNO^) alone 
will remain. 

How to Make Potassium Chloride. This salt (KCIO^) 
is a white substance in the form of crystals, and the larger 
part of it comes from the great potash beds at Stassfurt, 
Germany. Giant kelp, or seaweed, as it is commonly 
called, contains about 9 per cent of it, and from this it is 
now extracted to some extent commercially. 

To make a little potassium chloride (KClOz), follow the 
directions given for making sodium chloride (NaCl), but 
use hydrochloric acid (ECl) and potassium hydroxide 
(KOE), that is, caustic potash for the base. 


WHAT BASES AND SALTS ARE 


149 


How the Experiment Works. The reaction will give 
you potassium chloride {KCIO^ and water thus: 

HCl + KOH = KClOs + H2O 
Hydrochloric Potassium Potassium Water 

acid hydroxide chloride 

Evaporate the solution that remains after heating the acid 
and the base together and the potassium chloride (KCl) 
will remain behind in the form of a crystalline salt. 

How to Make Potassium Nitrate. Potassium nitrate 
{KNO3) or just saltpetrej as it is usually called for short, 
is also a white crystalline salt and is chiefly used for mak¬ 
ing black gunpowder. Now while sodium nitrate {NaNO^ 
is cheaper than potassium nitrate (TTWOs), the former 
cannot be used in making gunpowder, as it is deliquesent, 
that is, it absorbs moisture from the air, while the latter 
does not. To make potassium nitrate {KNO^ on a com¬ 
mercial scale, potassium chloride (iTC/Os) from the Stass- 
furt potash beds is added to a hot solution of sodium nitrate 
{NaNO^). 

You can make a sample of potassium nitrate (KNO^) 
by using the same process as described for the foregoing 
salts, but in this case add nitric acid (H NO3) to potassium 
hydroxide {KOH)j and potassium nitrate (KNO^) and 
water (H2O) will result. 

How the Experiment Works. The reaction is this: 
HNO^ + KOH = KNO^ + H2O 
Nitric acid Potassium Potassium Water 

hydroxide nitrate 

The water (H2O) is then evaporated as explained before, and 
the potassium nitrate (K NO^) salts are left behind. 


CHAPTER IX. 


THE MYSTIC METALS 
THEIR ALLOYS AND AMALGAMS. 

All the elements can be classified under two general 
headings, namely, those that are metals and those that are 
non-metals. Now while it is easy to tell a metal from a 
non-metal when you see it, it is not at all easy to define the 
difference; it will, however, serve the purpose to say that 
a metal is an element which is opaque, has a metallic lustre, 
is a good conductor of electricity, and, finally, and most 
important of all, is able to take the place of the hydrogen 
( H) in an acid and to form a salt. 

There are two ways in which metals occur in nature, and 
these are in a native^ or free, state, that is, they are found in 
a pure form, and when they are mixed, or combined, with 
other substances, and when these are hard they are called 
ores. Copper (Cw), lead (P6), silver (Ag), gold {Au)^ 
platinum (P/), and some other metals are found in a free 
state. 

Of the ores, there are several chief kinds, and these 
are the oxides^ the sulphides, and the carbonates. 

Among the oxides are those of iron {FeO) and (^^203), 
zinc {ZnO), tin {SnO^, or tin stone, as this ore is called, 
copper {CM2O), which is called ruby copper, etc. Among 
the sulphides are those of iron {FeS<^, or iron pyrites, nickel 


THE MYSTIC METALS 


151 


{NiS)f cobalt or cobaltite, as this ore is called, 

antimony (Sb2S3), or stibnitej lead {RS), etc. Finally, 
among the carbonates are those of iron (F^COs), lead 
(PbCOs)^ zinc {ZnCOz) and copper (Cu2{0H)2COz) or 
malachite. 

The Activity of the Metals. The power of a metal to 
displace hydrogen (H) in dilute acids and water {H2O) is 
called its activity. Now the most active metal is potassium 
(AT), as the table given below shows, while lead {Pb) is the 
least active, and all those below the Zero or hydrogen(F') 
line will not dissolve in water {H2O) or weak acids, and, 
hence, will not replace the hydrogen {H) in them at all, 
and they are, therefore, called the inactive metals. These 
metals can, however, be dissolved in strong acids. 


TABLE OF ACTIVITIES. 


13* 

Potassium (it) 

2. 

Tin {Sn) 

12. 

Sodium {Na) 

I. 

Lead {Pb) 

II. 

Lithium {Li) 

0. 

Hydrogen {H) 

10. 

Calcium {Ca) 

I. 

Copper {Cu) 

9 - 

Magnesium {Mg) 

2. 

Bismuth {Bi) 

8 . 

Aluminum {Al) 

3- 

Antimony {Sb) 

7 - 

Manganese {Mn) 

4. 

Mercury {H^ 

6 . 

Zinc {Zn) 

5 - 

Silver {Ag) 

5 - 

Chromium {Cr) 

6 . 

Platinum {Pt) 

4. 

Iron {Fe) 

7 - 

Gold {Au) 

3- 

Nickel {Ni) 




There are many other metals than those given in the 
preceding table, but these are the best known, and their 



152 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


distinguishing features, various uses, and experiments with 
them will follow in the above order. 

Potassium, the Softest Metal. The Latin word for 
potassium {K) is kalium, and since P is the symbol used 
for phosphorus (P), which was a much earlier known ele¬ 
ment, the letter K was chosen for potassium {K), This 
metal was discovered in 1807 by Sir Humphrey Davy, who 
made it by passing a current of electricity through some 
potassium hydroxide (POH), causing minute drops of the 
pure metal to be formed on the negative wire. In the early 
days, potassium hydroxide {KOH) was obtained from 
wood-ashes, and when these were leached, boiled, and 
evaporated, the remaining substance was called pot-ashes, 
then just potash, and from this we get the name potassium 
{K). 

Potassium {K) is a silvery-white metal with a bright 
metallic lustre and so soft that you can knead it with 
your fingers at room temperature, just as you would a piece 
of wax. Owing to its great activity when it comes into 
contact with water {H2O), it must be kept in oil so that the 
moisture of the air cannot get to it. It is so light that it 
floats on water (H2O),and it melts at a much lower tempera¬ 
ture than that at which water {H2O) boils. 

Compounds of Potassium. While potassium (K) is of 
little use by itself, the compounds made with it are of great 
value. Its chief compounds are potassium iodide (KI), 
which is used for testing starch, in medicine, and in photog¬ 
raphy; potassium hydroxide {KOH), which is used largely 
for making other compounds of potassium {K)] potassium 
nitrate {KNO^, which is used for preserving meats and 


THE MYSTIC METALS 


153 


for making gunpowder and fireworks; potassium chlorate 
{KClO^j which is used in making oxygen (0) and in medi¬ 
cine, and potassium carbonate (iC2C03), which is used as 
a fertilizer. 

An Experiment with Potassium. Take a piece of potas¬ 
sium (iC) out of the bottle of oil with your tweezers, cut 
off a piece the size of a pea, and drop it into a bowl of water 
instantly the hydrogen {Tl) of the latter will be set 
free and the heat produced will ignite the potassium (i^); 



Fig. 11 8 . —The Reaction of Potassium on Water. 


the gas will then force the burning metal through the water 
{HoO)^ as shown in Fig. Ii8, and as it darts along it will 
make explosive sounds like a bunch of miniature firecrackers 
going off. 

How the Experiment Works. When you drop the potas¬ 
sium {K) on the water the chemical action sets the 

hydrogen {H) free so fast that it develops enough heat to 
ignite both the gas and the metal, and the mechanical re¬ 
action between the escaping gas and the metal forces the 
latter along on the water (H2O). The chemical reaction 
that takes place between the potassium (K) and the water 



















154 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


{H2O) forms potassium hydroxide {KOH) and hydrogen 
{H) thus: 

K + H2O == KOH + H T 

Potassium Water Potassium Hydrogen 

hydroxide 

Sodium, Another Alkali Metal. Since S is the symbol 
of sulphur (5) one of the earliest known elements, the letters 
Na, are used for sodium {Na), because in Latin the latter 
was called natrium^ which means soda. This metal was 
also discovered by Davy, who made it in 1808 by bringing 
a pair of wires from a battery into contact with sodium 
hydroxide {NaOH)^ that is, caustic soda. Sodium {Na)' 
is a soft, shining, silvery metal, and it behaves very much 
like potassium {K) when it is dropped into cold water, but 
since it is not so active as the latter metal it does not pro¬ 
duce enough heat to ignite the hydrogen {H) which is set 
free around it. 

Compounds of Sodium. The pure metal is chiefly of 
interest for experimental work, but it is widely employed 
by nature and the chemist in making various salts, and in 
combination with carbon (C) compounds it is used for both 
dyes and drugs. The chief compounds in which it occurs 
are sodium chloride (iYaC/), that is, common table salt; 
sodium nitrate (iVaiYOs), which is the starting-point in 
making potassium nitrate {KNO^, or saltpetre, and of 
nitric acid {HNO^] sodium carbonate {Na2CO:^^ which 
in turn, is used for making sodium bicarbonate {N'aH COi), 
or baking soda, etc. 

An Experiment with Sodium. Drop a small piece of 
sodium (Na) into a dish of cold water {H2O) and watch 


THE MYSTIC METALS 


155 


its action. Having made the above experiment, thicken 
the water {E^O) with a little starch (Ce^ioOs), which will 
cause the heat developed to be concentrated, and then the 
hydrogen ( H) will ignite and the sodium ( Na) will burn with 
a brilliant yellow color. 

How the Experiment Works. The reaction that takes 
place when sodium {Na) comes in contact with water {H2O) 
is that they form sodium hydroxide {NaOH) and hydrogen 
(H). The following equation shows at a glance what takes 
place: 

Na + H2O = NaOH + H T 

Sodium Water Sodium hydroxide Hydrogen 

Lithium, the Lightest Metal. This metal gets its name 
from the Greek word lithium^ which means stone. Now it 
happens that while lithium {Li) is obtained from stone¬ 
like minerals, such as lapidolite^ which is a kind of mica 
and is, therefore, quite heavy, the metal itself is the lightest 
of them all, and what is more, it is the lightest solid known; 
in fact, it is so light that it not only floats on water but on 
the oil in which it is kept. 

Traces of lithium {Li) are found in the water of various 
mineral springs, in the soil, in the ashes of tobacco, and in 
beets. It is made by passing a current of electricity through 
fused lithium chloride {LiCl). When brought into contact 
with water {H2O), it acts like potassium {K) and sodium 
{No), except that it is not so active, but different from these 
metals, it is quite hard. 

Compounds of Lithium. Lithium {Li) forms compounds 
with hydrogen {H), nitrogen ( 7 Y), and oxygen ( 0 ), but 


156 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


unlike those of the other alkali metals the hydroxide ( LiO H) 
formed of it does not dissolve easily in water (H2O). 

An Experiment with Lithium. Drop a piece of lithium 
(Li) into a test tube half full of cold water (H2O), and then 
drop a piece into a like amount of warm water {H20)j and 
you will see that it combines with the latter very much 
faster than with the former. When the lithium is dissolved, 
the compound that is formed is lithium hydroxide {LiOH). 

Calcium, the Fourth Alkaline Metal. The Latin word 
for lime is calx, and from this we get the word calcium ( Ca ), 
which is the chemical name for lime. The metal in its 
pure state looks like silver {Ag), and melts when brought 
to a cherry-red heat. It is not quite as soft as lead (Pb) 
and, like the latter, it can be cut, drawn, and rolled. 

Calcium (Ca) is never found in a free state, but is very 
plentiful in different compounds, especially in calcium car¬ 
bonate (CaCOs), of which chalk, marble, and limestone are 
formed; it is also found in calcium sulphate {CaSOi), which 
is gypsum, and as calcium phosphate {Ca2{POi)2), in the 
minerals apatite and phosphorite, and in fluoride {CaF^, 
that is, fluor-spar. It is also found in plants, in the bones 
of animals, and in sea-shells, while coral and pearls are 
made of it. 

Compounds of Calcium. Like the other alkaline metals, 
calcium (Ca) is of but little use in its pure state, but its 
compounds are very valuable. Chief among these are 
calcium chloride {CaCh), calcium oxide {CaO), that is, 
quicklime, calcium hydroxide {Ca{OH)f), or slaked lime, 
calcium carbonate {CaCOf), which, as I have said so many 
times before, is limestone. 


THE MYSTIC METALS 


157 


Now limestone {CaCO^ will dissolve in water {H2O) 
that has carbon dioxide (CO2) in it, which then acts like a 
weak acid and, indeed, it is called carbonic acid (L72CO3). 
When the water {H2O) of a river runs over limestone 
(CaCOz), it dissolves it and sometimes forms a cave, or a 
cavern; on the other hand, when water {H2O) has calcium 
bicarbonate {Ca{HCOs)2) in it and it seeps drop by drop 
through the ceiling of the cave, or cavern; it loses its carbon 
dioxide (CO2) and the calcium bicarbonate {Ca{HCO^^ 
gets hard and forms stalactites, the name given to needles 
which hang from the ceiling, and stalagmites, needles which 
rise from the floor. 

Experiments with Calcium. Take a piece of calcium 
{Ca), stand about 3 feet from a clean brick wall and throw 
it as hard as you can against it, and the metal will ignite 
and burn with a brilliant white flame. 

Spread some calcium sulphide (Ca 5 ), which is a compound 
made by heating pulverized calcium sulphate {CaSO^ and 
charcoal (C) together, on a sheet of paper and lay it where 
the sunlight will strike it. After you have thus exposed 
it for half an hour or so, take it into a dark room and it will 
shine with a cold light. Calcium sulphide ( CaS) and barium 
siflphide {BaS), which also shines in the dark, are used for 
making luminous paint. 

Magnesium, the Metal that Burns. Magnesium (Mg) 
gets its name from Magnesia, a district in Asia Minor, 
where magnesium carbonate (MgCOs), or magnetite, as it 
is called, was first found. When Davy was experimenting 
with the action of an electric current on various substances, 
he discovered that magnesium carbonate (MgCO^ was a 


158 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


compound of a metal with carbon (C) and oxygen ( 0 ); then 
in 1830, Bussy, a French chemist, separated the metal. 
This he did by treating magnesium chloride {MgCl2{H20) ), 
a salt that is found in salt deposits, with potassium chloride 
{KCl)y causing the potassium {K) to combine with the 
chlorine (C/)and leave the magnesium (Mg) in a pure state. 

It is now obtained by passing a current of electricity 
through melted magnetitie (MgCOs), potassium chloride 
(KCl), and sodium chloride (NaCl). It is a silvery-white 
metal, quite soft and very light and brittle. Magnesium 
(Mg) is used chiefly for making flash-lights for taking photo¬ 
graphs, as it is rich in violet waves, which act strongly on 
a photographic plate, for making fireworks and signal lights, 
and for making silver polish and tooth powders. 

Compounds of Magnesium. Chief among the com¬ 
pounds of magnesium (Mg) are magnesium oxide (MgO) 
and the hydroxide (Mg (0 H)‘^. The former is made by 
heating magnesium carbonate (MgCOa), when the product 
is called calcined magnesia, and as even the highest tem¬ 
peratures will not affect this, it is used for making crucibles 
and lining furnaces. When water (H2O) is poured over 
magnesium oxide (MgO), they combine slowly and form 
magnesium hydroxide (Mg( 0 H)^. When magnesium (Mg) 
is combined with oxygen ( 0 ), carbon (C), and hydrogen 
(H), they form a magnesium alba, as it is commonly called, 
and this is largely used in medicines and cosmetics. 

Experiments with Magnesium. Magnesium (Mg) can 
be bought in the form of thin ribbon coiled up, or in a pow¬ 
der. Take a piece of the ribbon and light the end of it with 
a match and it will give out a light of dazzling brightness, 


THE MYSTIC METALS 


159 


as shown in Fig. 119. The greyish powder that remains 
as an ash after it is burned is magnesium oxide (MgO). 
Mix a teaspoonful of powdered magnesium {Mg) with 13^ 
teaspoonfuls of potassium chlorate {KCIO3) and you wiU 
have a flash-light powder. 

Aluminum, the Lightest Com- 
‘mon Metal. Aluminum (Al) gets 
its name from alumen, which 
means clay. After oxygen ( 0 ) 
and silicon {Si), aluminum {Al) 
is the most plentiful element we 
have, and all kinds of clays and 
micas contain it. Davy dis¬ 
covered the metal in 1808, and 
he first obtained it from alum¬ 
inum sulphate (A/2 (504)3^20), or 
alum, which is its common name, 
and this is made by treating pure 
clay with sulphuric acid {H2SO4). 

The metal is now made on a 
large scale by passing an electric 
current through aluminum oxide {AI2O2), which is dis¬ 
solved in melted cryolite {NaF+AlF^}, a mineral of Green¬ 
land, that is formed of sodium fluoride {NaF) and aluminum 
fluoride {AlFs). Aluminum {Al) is a whitish metal, the 
color of which lies between that of tin {Sn) and zinc {Zn), 
it is light, strong, and tough, weighs about 23^ times as 
much as water {H2O), 3,nd is both malleable and ductile. 
It is very resonant, and when a rod of it fixed at one end is 
struck with a piece of wood it gives a swelling musical sound. 



160 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


Aluminum {Al) is largely used instead of copper {Cti) 
for electric transmission lines, for making utensils, in mak¬ 
ing pure steel, and for thermit, a high-temperature com¬ 
pound. The steel-makers put i part of aluminum {Al) 
in with looo parts of steel, and when the metals are melted 
the gases combine with the aluminum {Al)^ so that when 
the steel is cast it is free from blow-holes. The chief com¬ 
pounds of aluminum are aluminum oxide {AhO^] aluminum 
hydroxide {AlOzH^] aluminum chloride (H/C/3); aluminum 
silicate {AlKSi^O^j which when mixed with water {H2O) 
is clay; and the alums, which are compounds formed of 
potassium (K) and aluminum (A/), called potassium alum 
{AIK (5O4)2 + 12//2O); and sodium ( Na) and aluminum 
(Al), called sodium alum {AlNa{SO4)2+12 H2O). When 
aluminum {Al) burns, it produces a very high tempera¬ 
ture — about 3000 degrees Fahrenheit — and this will 
melt most metals. This fact is taken advantage of in 
thermit, which is the trade-name for a process. The fol¬ 
lowing experiment shows how it works. 

An Experiment with Aluminum. Mix a tablespoonful 
of powdered aluminum {Al) and a like amount of iron 
oxide {Fe20z) in a small sand crucible; now push a piece 
of magnesium {Mg) wire down into the mixture and light 
it, as shown in Fig. 120, and the aluminum will take fire. 
The burning aluminum {Al) melts the iron {Fe) in the iron 
oxide (^6203),and when the mass is cold you will find a 
button of pure iron {Fe) in the bottom of the crucible. 
This experiment must be done out-of-doors. 

How the Experiment Works. The reason magnesium 
{Mg) wire is used to ignite the aluminum {Al) powder is 


THE MYSTIC METALS 


161 


because it takes a hotter flame to fire the latter than a burn- 
ing splint of wood can produce. The aluminum {Al) gets 
oxygen (0) in which to burn from the iron oxide {Fe20z), 
and these combine to form aluminum oxide {AWz), while 
pure iron {Fe) remains in the bottom of the crucible. The 
reaction is this: 

Al + Fe20z = AI2O3 + Fe 
Aluminum Iron oxide Aluminum oxide Iron 



Fig. 120.—Making Iron by the Thermit Process. 


Manganese, the Hardening Metal. The Latin word for 
magnet is magnes and manganese {Mn)^ was named after it, 
not only because the ore in which it was found looked some¬ 
thing like the natural magnet, or lodestone^ as it is called, 
but also because it is slightly magnetic. This metal was 
discovered by Gahn in 1775 in an ore that Scheele named 
manganese. 

The metal does not occur free in nature but is found 
in large quantities in a mineral called pyrolusite,v^]i\c]i is 








162 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


crude black manganese dioxide {MnO^, It can be extracted 
by mixing this mineral and aluminum {Al), both in pow¬ 
dered form, in a crucible and igniting them, as explained 
under the heading of an Experiment with Aluminum/’ 
It is a heavy, hard, and brittle metal of a grey color. 

Compounds of Manganese. When manganese {M7t) 
combines with oxygen (0) it forms several compounds, the 
most common of which are manganese oxide {MnO) and 
manganese dioxide It also forms several com¬ 

pounds when it combines with potassium (A'), and among 
these are potassium manganate {K2M7iO^ and potassium 
permanganate {KMnO^. When mixed with steel, it 
forms an alloy of exceeding hardness, and this will be de¬ 
scribed farther along. 

An Experiment with Manganese. Dissolve tea¬ 
spoonful of ferrous sulphate (FeSO^), that is, copperas, or 
green vitriol, in a test tube half full of water {H2O) and add 
a couple of drops of sulphuric acid {H2SO4) to it. This 
done, dissolve teaspoonful of potassium permanganate 
(KMnOi) in a test tube half full of water {H2O) and you 
will have a solution of a deep purplish-red color. Now 
with your pipette add a drop at a time of the former to the 
latter, and the color will disappear. 

Zinc, the Electric Metal. Wliile zinc {Zn) is the nega¬ 
tive element that is used in all primary battery cells for 
generating a current of electricity, it finds a wider applica¬ 
tion in the building industries, since it does not rust like 
iron {Fe), and in making brass and other alloys. It is 
found in various ores, and among these are sphalerite, or 
zinc-blende, (from the German hlenden, meaning to dazzle), 


THE MYSTIC METALS 163 

which is zinc sulphide {ZnS), and also in smithsonite 
{ZnCO^, 

To separate the zinc from these compounds, in the first 
case, the sphalerite is crushed and then roasted, causing 
the sulphur {S) to pass off, and in the second case the smith¬ 
sonite is powdered and mixed with coal and then heated, 

which drives off the (CO3). 
The pure metal is of a 
bluish-white color and can 
be easily rolled into sheets 
when it is heated to 150 
degrees Fahrenheit, but it 
is brittle when heated 
either above or below this 
point. Zinc oxide {ZnO) 
or zinc white^ as it is com¬ 
monly called by painters, 
zinc sulphate {ZnSO^,^- 
-0^20), or white vitriol^ to 
give it its common name, 
and zinc chloride {ZnCl^ 
are the chief compounds 
formed of zinc {Zn). 

An Experiment with Zinc. Make a solution, called an 
electrolyte, hy diddmg i fluid ounce of sulphuric acid (iy2‘S'04) 
to a beaker three-fourths full of water (L/'20); put in a 
strip of zinc {Zn) and a rod of carbon (C), to one end 
of each of which you have fastened a copper wire, and you 
will have a simple battery cell. If now you will wind one 
of the wires around a nail and connect the end of it with the 



electrolyte 
(Hz SO4) 

AND 

(HaO) 


Fig. 121.—A Simple 
Electric Cell. 


















































164 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


end of the other battery wire, as shown in Fig. 121, the nail 
will become a magnet, and when this is the case you will 
know that a current is flowing in the wire. 

Chromium, the Color-Making Metal. We get the word 
color from the Greek root chroma^ and because this metal 
gives variously colored compounds it is called chromium 
{Cr), While it is not a very well known metal, still it was 
discovered over a hundred years ago. It is found in a 
mineral called chromite, which is ferrous chromite {Fe 
{CrO^^^, and in chrocoisite, which is lead chromate {PhCrO^. 
The metal is easily extracted from this mineral by the 
thermit process. (See Aluminum). Like manganese {Mn), 
chromium (Cr) is used for hardening steel {Fe), and alloys 
containing it will be described presently. The chief com¬ 
pounds of chromium (Cr) are potassium chromate {K2CrO^ 
and potassium dichromate {K2Cr20T). 

Experiments with Chromium. Potassium dichromate 
{K2Cr20i) is the most common compound of chromium 
(Cr). It is made by dissolving chromium (Cr) in nitric 
acid (HNOz). Heat a beaker half full of water {H2O) 
until it boils, then remove it from the flame and stir in a 
teaspoonful of potassium dichromate {K2Cr207); when it 
is cold, add i ounce of sulphuric acid {H2SO4) and stir the 
solution well with a glass rod. This done, pour it into your 
porcelain evaporating-dish and cover it with a board, let it 
stand for several hours, and dark red crystals will be 
formed in it. These are chromic acid {H2CrO^. 

Pour off the red solution, then lay the crystals on a piece 
of flower pot, or other unglazed pottery, and cover them 
with a glass jar so that the air can not get to them, and in a 


THE MYSTIC METALS 


165 


couple of days they will be quite dry. Put a teaspoonful 
of dry chromic acid {H^CrO^ in your porcelain evaporat¬ 
ing-dish and add a few drops of 95 per cent ethyl alcohol 
{C2HbOH)^ which is grain alcohol, and the latter will 
immediately burst into flames, as shown in Fig. 122. 

Iron, the Most Useful Metal. Iron {Fe) is such a common 
metal that it needs but little description. It is seldom 

found in pure state but 
it is very plentiful in 
the ores of magnetite 
{FeO^, hematite {Fe^O^, 
siderite {FeCOs), and 
pyrites {FeS^)- To get 
the iron {Fe) out of 
these ores, they are 
mixed with coke (C) in 
a blast furnace and the 
coke (C) is then burned in a blast of air. The oxide or 
sulphur ( 5 ) in them then combines with the gases of the air, 
and the iron {Fe) melts and flows to the bottom of the 
furnace. 

0 

When other metals and substances are mixed with iron 
{Fe) it takes on new properties, and these alloys will be 
described farther on. There are numerous iron {Fe) chemi¬ 
cal compounds, and among them are ferrous carbonate 
(FeCOs), ferrous sulphate {FeSO^, and ferrous sulphide 
{FeS)\ also ferric chloride {FeCl^) and ferric oxide {FeO^, 
which latter is iron rust. 

An Experiment with Iron. To make a little ferrous sul¬ 
phide {FeS), dissolve 3^ teaspoonful of ferric ammonium 



Fig. 122 —Chromium Crystals and Alcohol 
Bursting into Flames. 








166 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


sulphate {{NH^) 25O4 + Fe2{SO4)z +24. H 2O) in a test tube 
half full of water {H2O). Now put H teaspoonful of sul¬ 
phur (5) and a bit of paraffin wax the size of a pea into 
another test tube; fit a cork that has a bent delivery tube 
in it into the mouth of the latter, and place the end of this 



Fig. 123.— Making Ferric Sulphide. 


in the test tube containing the ferric ammonium sulphate 
(see formula above) solution, as shown in Fig. 123. Finally, 
melt the paraffin and sulphur {S) over the flame of your 
lamp or burner, and let the hydrogen sulphide {H2S), which 
is a gas and smells like rotten eggs, pass through it for 3 or 
4. minutes. Soon there will be a black precipitate formed, 
and this is ferrous sulphide {FeS). 
























THE MYSTIC METALS 


167 


Nickel, the Non-Rusting Metal. Nickel (Ni) is a white 
metal with a slightly yellowish tinge; it is very hard, has a 
high melting point, and takes a fine polish. It is never 
found free except in meteorites, but it is found in combina¬ 
tion with arsenic (As), and is also obtained from a mineral 
called pentlandite ((Ni,Cu,Fe)S). To extract the nickel 
( Ni) from its ore, the latter is roasted, which drives off the 
sulphur ( 5 ), and then smelted to separate it from the copper 
(Cu) and the iron (Fe). As it rusts very slowly in moist 
air and because it takes a beautiful silvery polish, it is largely 
used in electroplating iron (Fe) and steel (Fe,C) articles of 
all kinds. 

There are many compounds of this metal, including the 
chloride (NiCl2jH20), the sulphate(Af504,£^20), and the 
oxide (AT2O3). Nickel ammonium sulphate ((NH^2S04., 
NiS04,H20) is used for making nickel sulphide (NiS), 
nickel carbonate (NiCOs), nickel tetraborate (NiB^(OH)^, 
and other nickel compounds. 

How to Nickel-Plate a Coin. To electroplate a copper 
coin with nickel (Ni), dissolve a teaspoonful of nickel am¬ 
monium sulphate (see formula above) in a test tube two- 
thirds full of boiling water (H2O). Now wrap a thin 
copper wire around the coin and dip it in a solution made 
by dissolving 3^ teaspoonful of sodium hydroxide (AaO A), 
that is, caustic soda, in a beaker half full of boiling water 
(E2O). 

This hot solution will dissolve all the grease and oxide 
and leave the coin perfectly clean. This done, put the 
coin into a smaller beaker and pour over it the nickel 
solution, which you have allowed to get cold. Finally, put 


168 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


a strip of clean zinc {Zn) into the solution and let it stand 
for 5 or 10 minutes. The nickel (TV’z) will be deposited upon 
the coin and the latter will be nickel-plated. 

Tin, the Soft, Malleable Metal. ''Tin’’ is an old Anglo- 
Saxon word, and stannum is its Latin name, so from this 
we get the symbol for it {Sn). This metal was one of the 
earliest known, as the fact that it has been found in Egyp¬ 
tian tombs goes to show. In the days of the early Greeks 
tin {Sn) was found only in the British Isles and, hence, these 
were called the Tin Islands. It is a soft, white metal and 
so malleable that it can ,be rolled into exceedingly thin 
sheets which we call tin-foil. 

The chief ore it is contained in is cassiterite {SnOf), or 

tin-stone, as it is commonly called, and this is found in the 

% 

Straits Settlement, Bolivia, England, and Nigeria. The 
metal is extracted from its ore by pulverizing the latter, 
washing it,and then roasting it to drive out the impurities, 
after which it is smelted with coke (C). The chemical 
compounds formed of tin {Sn) include the chlorides, the 
oxides, stannic acid {E 2 S 7 iOf), etc. 

An Experiment with Tin. This is an experiment in which 
stannous chloride {SnClf) is used to separate the metallic 
mercury {Hg) that is in a mercuric chloride {HgCl) solu¬ 
tion. Make a little stannous chloride {SnClf) solution by 
dissolving 3^ teaspoonful of granulated tin {Sn) in a test 
tube half full of hydrochloric acid {HCl). Next dissolve 
34 teaspoonful of mercuric chloride {HgCl), the common 
name of which is corrosive sublimate, and which you want 
to handle very carefully, as it is poisonous, in a test tube 
half full of water {HdD). Now add a few drops of the tin 


THE MYSTIC METALS 


169 


solution, and the metallic mercury (//g) will appear as a 
grey powder and fall to the bottom of the test tube. 

Lead, the Heavy Metal. Lead {Ph) like tin {Sn) is one 
of the oldest known metals. It gets its symbol from plum- 
hum, which is its Latin name, and it was widely used by 
the ancient Romans for weights, utensils, and water pipes. 
It is found free in small quantities, but the greater part of 
it is extracted from a mineral called galena {PhS), which 
is lead sulphide (PbS). To get rid of the sulphur ( 5 ), the 
ore is roasted, and this drives it off. As lead (Pb) does 
not rust, it is largely used for plumbing, and because it 
does not react with hydrochloric acid (HCl) or dilute sul¬ 
phuric acid (H2S0^), it is used for making vessels for holding 
these acids. It is also the metal that is used for making 
storage battery plates. 

In combination with other elements it forms lead oxides, 
one of which is minium or red lead (P&3O4), and lead car¬ 
bonate (P5CO3), which is white lead, both of which are 
used for making paint; lead nitrate {Pb{NO^^^, lead 
acetate {Pb(C02C 112)2H2O), that is,sugar of lead, so-called 
because it has a sweet taste, lead sulphate (PbSO^), and 
lead sulphide (PbS). 

How to Make a Lead-Tree. You can make the pretty 
vegetable-like growth called a lead-tree, or Arbor Saturni, 
by precipitating the lead {Ph) from one of its salts by means 
of zinc {Zn). Dissolve i ounce of powdered lead nitrate 
{Pb{N 0 f) 2 ) in a pint bottle of water {H2O). Now tie a 
bit of granulated zinc {Zn) to one end of a thread, then fix 
the other end to a cork and suspend it in the lead solution 

^ This salt is made by treating lead {Pb) with nitric acid {HNO^). 


170 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


so that it will be in the center of the jar. In the course of 
several hours the lead {Ph) will be slowly deposited in the 
form of a tree, as shown in Fig. I24-. While this action is 
going on, the zinc {Zn) will pass into the solution and so 
exchanges places with the lead, thus: 

Zn + Ph{NO^)2 = Zn{NOz)2 + Pb i 
Zinc Lead nitrate Zinc nitrate Lead 

Copper, the Prehistoric 
Metal. After the stone 
age came the copper age, 
and the reason that cop¬ 
per {Cu) was the first 
metal to be used by the 
pre-historic races is be¬ 
cause it is found free in 
nature, and, what was 
also fortunate for them, 
it was soft enough to be 
welded into shape while 
it was cold. In the early 
Roman days it was 
brought from an island 
in the Mediterranean 
called Cyprus j and they 
named this metal Cyprium aes, which means Cyprium brass. 
Then as time went on it was called cuprium^ then it degen¬ 
erated into cuper, and we call it by the good old Anglo- 
Saxon name of copper (Cu). It is not only found free in 
considerable quantities but it occurs plentifully in many 
kinds of ores. 





















































THE MYSTIC METALS 


171 


(HiO) 


It is, as you probably know, a tough, reddish metal, and 
as it does not rust to any great extent and wears well it is 
widely used by all nations for making coins of the smallest 
value. For the same reason, it is also used for making 
shells for rifles and guns, for cooking utensils, and as it is 
the next-best conductor of electricity,^ it is especially use¬ 
ful for electric wires and apparatus. 

With other elements it forms various compounds, and 

these belong to two distinct 
series, the first of which is 
called cuprous compounds and 
the second cupric compounds. 
These compounds include the 
chlorides, bromides, oxides, 
hydroxides, carbonates, cyan- 
•(CUSO4) ides, acetates, sulphates, and 
sulphides. Cupric hydroxide 
{CuiOH)^ is used with am- 
monium hydroxide 
to form a compound that 
has this formula {Cu{N Cellulose (Cefi^ioOs) 
in the form of paper or cotton will dissolve in this solution, 
and when this is forced through minute holes in steel plates, 
threads of artificial silk are formed. 

An Experiment with Copper. Put I ounce of cupric sulphate 
{CuSOf)y or copper sulphate, blue vitriol, or hluestone, as it 
is variously called, in a beaker of warm water {H2O), stir 
it well, and set a strip of zinc (Zn) in it, as shown in Fig. 
125. Very soon the zinc (Zn) will be plated with copper 

1 Silver (Ag) is the best conductor. 






















172 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


(C^/),and some of the zinc {Zn) will take the place of the 
copper {Cu) in the solution, and it becomes zinc sulphate 
{ZnSO^ thus: 

Zn + CuSO^ = ZnS04, + Cu 

Zinc Copper sulphate Zinc sulphate Copper 

Bismuth, the Easily Fusible Metal. Although bismuth 
(Bi) is found free in nature, still it is not a commonly known 
metal. Just why it is called bismuth (Bi) seems not to be 
known, and Agricola, who discovered it in 1529 called it 
wiessmatte, which means a blooming meadow, because of the 
variegated colors it shows when it is tarnished. It is found 
in ores formed of bismuth trioxide {Bi20^, and bismuth 
trisulphide or bismuth glance as it is called. Bis¬ 

muth {Bi) is a pinkish-colored metal, very brittle, melts at 
a low temperature, and has the peculiar property of ex¬ 
panding when it cools. 

Bismuth {Bi), does not tarnish when exposed to air, and 
when heated to redness it burns and forms bismuth trioxide 
(BZ2O3). It united with fluorine {F), chlorine {Cl), bromine 
{Br), iodine (/), and nitrogen (A). Bismuth nitrate 
{Bi{N0z)z,H20) is the best known and most important 
salt of this metal, and this forms the well-known cosmetic 
so largely sold for beautifying ladies’ complexions under 
the name of pearl white. 

Experiments with Bismuth. Drop some finely powdered 
bismuth {Bi) into a jar of chlorine {Cl) and it will take fire. 

Put a bit of bismuth {Bi) on a piece of charcoal (C) and 
heat it. It will then form a yellow film, which is bismuth 
trioxide {Bi20s). 

Antimony, the Metal that Expands. This metal was 


THE MYSTIC METALS 


173 


discovered by Valentino in the latter part of the 15 th cen¬ 
tury and it gets its name from two Greek words which mean 
against and a monk, because some monks were poisoned by 
medicine made from it. Antimony {Sh) is found free in 
nature, but the chief supply comes from an ore called stih- 
nite — hence the symbol {Sh )^—which is black antimony 
sulphide {Sb2Ss); and this ore is roasted in the air to drive 
out the sulphur ( 5 ). 

Antimony (Sb) has a silver-white color and, like bismuth 
(Bi), it is brittle, melts at a low temperature, and expands 
on cooling. For the last reason, it is mixed with lead (P6), 
which contracts, for making type, and very sharp edges 
result. The well-known remedy called tartar emetic is a 
chemical compound formed of potassium (P), antimony 
trioxide {Sb20s)y tartaric acid (C^HqOq), and water {H2O). 

There are quite a number of antimony compounds, and 
these include stibine (SbH^), which is antimoniuretted hydro¬ 
gen, made by the action of zinc {Zn) and hydrochloric acid 
(H Cl) on some compound of antimony {Sb) which is soluble. 
Then there are the halides, oxides, and the sulphides, an¬ 
timony salts, such as antimony nitrate {SbNO^ and an¬ 
timony sulphate {Sb{SO^^j antimonic acid {HzSbO^^ daid 
the sulphantimonites and sulphantimonates. 

Experiments with Antimony. Heat a bit of antimony 
iSb) by laying it on a piece of charcoal (C), and bringing 
the flame of your alcohol lamp or Bunsen burner to bear 
on it with a blowpipe, as shown in Fig. 126, and the melted 
bead of metal will show a network formed of antimony 
trioxide (5&2O3). Now melt a small amount of antimony 
{Sb) in a crucible, grip the crucible with a pair of tongs and. 



174 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


holding it out at arm’s length, pour the antimony upon the 
ground. It will form smoking globules that rebound and 
rush up like lava thrown out of a volcano. 

Mercury, the Liquid Metal. This strange metal which 



Fig. 126.—How to Heat Antimony with a Blow-Pipe. 


is a liquid at ordinary temperatures was a great favorite of 
the old alchemists, for other metals except iron {Fe) and 
platinum {Pt) will dissolve in it, and in this way amalgams 
are formed. The Latin name for mercury {H^ is hydrar- 
gyram^ and this is the source of its symbol 

It is a bright, silvery-white metal, and it is found both 













THE MYSTIC METALS 


175 


free in nature, as .little drops, and in combination with sul¬ 
phur ( 5 ) in mercuric sulphide {HgS)^ or cinnabar^ as it is 
called. To get the mercury out of the latter, the ore 
is roasted, causing the oxygen (0) of the air to combine with 
the sulphur {S) in it. Sulphur dioxide {SO^ is formed, 
and the mercury (Fg), which passes off as a vapor, is caught, 
and then condensed again, thus: 


EgS + 0 

Mercuric Oxygen 
sulphide 


Eg + SO2 
Metallic Sulphur dioxide 
mercury 


Of the compounds of mercury (Fg), the most common 
ones are mercuric oxide (; mercurous chloride (^gC/), 
or calomel, as it is called in medicine; mercuric chloride 
{EgCl^y which is corrosive sublimate; mercurous iodide 
{Egl), mercuric iodide(^g/2), and mercuric sulphide (EgS), 
which brings us back to the ore we started from. 

An Experiment with Mercury. Clean a small rod of 
zinc (Zn) with a little dilute sulphuric acid (E 2 S 0 ^, and 
then roll it around in a few drops of mercury (E^, and 
it will be coated all over with the latter, or amalgamated, 
as it is called. Zinc battery plates are amalgamated, and the 
layer of mercury (E^ prevents a local action from being 
set up between the impure particles in the zinc (Zn) and 
the atoms of the latter, which lessens the current output 
of the battery. 

Silver, the Queen of Metals. The Latin name for silver 
(^g) is argentum, and since S is the symbol for sulphur, 
Ag is used as the symbol for silver. It is the least valuable 
of the precious metals, but owing to its many good proper¬ 
ties it is widely used in the arts. It is found free in nature 


176 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


and also in combination with sulphur ( 5 ) as silver sulphide 
(^g6'),and this, in turn, is often found in galenite (PbS). 
It is extracted from these ores by Parke’s process/ 

Silver (Ag) does not tarnish in air, but the fumes of sul¬ 
phur (S) coat it with a thin film. It is the best of all known 
conductors of electricity, but as it is much more costly than 
copper (Cu)y and the latter is nearly as good, it is not used 
for this purpose. Finally, it is the favorite metal for coin¬ 
age, and much of it is made into silverware. It is also 
largely used for electroplating and in photography. 

The chief compounds that are formed with it are silver 
chloride (AgCl), silver nitrate (AgNOs), silver bromide 
(AgBr), and silver iodide (Agl). There are other salts of 
silver (Ag) and many complex compounds of it, but these 
need not be gone into here. 

An Experiment with Silver. Since silver (Ag) is too soft 
to be used alone for coins, it is mixed, or alloyed, as it is 
called with a little copper (Cu). Hold a silver dime in a 
gas flame with your pair of forceps until it is quite hot, then 
put a couple of drops of water (H2O) on it and let it cool, 
and there will be a black spot on it. This spot is cupric 
oxide (CuO), that is, copper oxide, and it is caused by the 
copper {Cu) in the coin combining with the oxygen (O) 
of the water {H^O), 

Gold, the King of Metals. Gold {Au), that wonderful 
yellow metal, was the warp, and the struggles of those who 
sought it were the woof of which some of the most thrilling 
scenes in the world’s history were woven. Long ages ago 

lA description of this process will be found in Alex. Smith’s “inorganic 
Chemistry,” published by the Century Co., New York. 


THE MYSTIC METALS 


177 


it was called by the Latin name of aurum, and it is from 
this that we get the symbol, Au. 

Gold {Au) is usually found free in nature — very often 
in quartz sand and also encased in quartz. It is separated 
from the former by washing and from the latter by mercury 
which forms an amalgam with it; when this is gently 
heated, the mercury {Hg) passes off as a vapor and the gold 
{Au) remains behind. Gold {Au) is a soft metal and so 
malleable that it can be beaten into leaves of such exceed¬ 
ing thinness that it takes a quarter of a million of them to 
make a pile i inch high. 

Gold {Au) will not set hydrogen {H) free from acids, it 
is not affected by air, and it will not dissolve in any kind of 
acid except aqua regia, a mixture of hydrochloric acid ( H Cl) 
and nitric acid {HNO^. It has always been used for 
jewelry and for coinage, and to make it hard enough for 
these purposes it must be alloyed with a little copper {Cu), 
It is also used for making gold leaf, for gold plating, and 
formerly to a considerable extent in photography. 

Gold {Au) combines directly with chlorine {Cl), and 
when dissolved in aqua regia it gives chlorauric acid 
{HAuCIaAH 20 ). Auric chloride {AuCh), or gold chloride, 
which was once much used for toning photographic prints, 
is made by heating chlorauric acid {HAuCh.A-HzO); the 
latter gives up its hydrogen chloride ( H Cl) and leaves the 
red crystals of auric chloride {AuCh) behind. Gold {Au) 
also combines with bromine {Br), and there are several 
other compounds of it. 

An Experiment with Gold. Get a sheet of gold leaf of a 
sign-painter, or a painter’s supply house, and hold it up 


178 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


before a white light. You will observe that the light passes 
through the gold leaf quite easily. 

Platinum, the Regal Metal. The word platinum {Pt) 
comes from the Spanish platina, which means silver (Ag)^ 
and since these metals bear a decided resemblance to each 
other in the matter of color, it is quite likely that the regal 
metal was taken for the queen of metals when it was first 
found. Platinum (Pt) is chiefly found free in the gravel 
of river beds, and most of it comes from the Ural Moun¬ 
tains. It is quite hard, cannot be melted in the flame of a 
Bunsen burner, but does so in an oxyhydrogen flame or the 
electric arc. 

Platinum (Pt) is a very heavy metal, a piece of it weigh¬ 
ing nearly three times as much as a piece of iron (Fe), and 
twice as much as a piece of lead (Pb) of the same size. It 
has a very small chemical activity, by which is meant that 
it resists the action of most substances, and hence it is 
largely used in making crucibles, evaporating-dishes, and 
other apparatus required by the chemist. 

One of the chief compounds made of platinum (Pt) is 
platinic chloride (PtCh), and this is done by dissolving 
the metal in aqua regia and then evaporating the solution, 

causing the acids to pass off. 

* 

How Alloys are Made. The name alloy, is given to two 
or more, different metals when they are melted together. 
While an alloy thus produced is simply a mixture of the 
metals, it possesses properties entirely different from either 
or all of them. 

Alloys of Magnesium and Aluminum. Aluminum (AT) 
is a metal that is hard to work in a lathe and also to polish, 


THE MYSTIC METALS 


179 


for the reason that it sticks to the tools, but when 2 per 
cent of magnesium (M^ is mixed with 98 per cent of it, 
they form an alloy called magnalium that is free from these 
difficulties. 

Alloys of Iron and Steel. Pure iron {Fe) is quite soft 
and malleable, but what we call cast iron is really an alloy 
which contains a small per cent of carbon (C), sulphur ( 5 ), 
silicon ( 5 f), and other substances, and it is these that make 
it grey and brittle. Wrought iron is purer, and for this 
reason it is malleable. Steel is simply iron {Fe) that has 
more carbon (C) in it than cast iron, and when it is heated 
to a certain temperature and allowed to cool slowly, it gets 
very hard and springy. 

By mixing in various other metals, a wonderful series of 
steel alloys are produced; thus when 7 to 20 per cent of man¬ 
ganese {Mn) is added to steel it is called manganese steel. 
This alloy is exceedingly hard, and so it is used for making 
burglar-proof safes, the jaws of stone crushers, and rail¬ 
way frogs. When i per cent of chromium {Cr) and 15 
per cent of vanadium (F) are mixed with steel, it makes 
an alloy called chrome-vanadium steely and this not only has 
great tensile strength but it will bend double before it will 
break. It is used for the connecting-rods of engines and 
the frames and axles of motor-cars. 

An alloy with 20 per cent of tungsten {W)j % per cent 
carbon (C), 33^2 per cent of chromium (Cr) and per 
cent of vanadium (F), and the rest steel, makes an alloy 
called high-speed steel. This is used to make tools for lathes 
and other machines, and these will cut steel very fast and 
without losing their temper even when the friction heats 


180 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


them red-hot. When 2 to 4 per cent of nickel ( Ni) is added 
to steel it makes an alloy called nickel-steely and this alloy 
is not only hard and springy but one that sea-water {H2O) 
has but little effect upon. For these reasons it is used for 
propeller shafts, ships^ cables that must be placed under¬ 
seas, armor-plate for battle-ships, etc. 

Another nickel-steel alloy is called invar steely and this 
is made of 36 per cent of nickel( Af) and the rest steel. While 
all other metals and alloys will either expand or contract 
on cooling, invar steel remains of the same dimensions under 
practically all degrees of temperature. Hence it is largely 
used for clock pendulums and measuring scales, the lengths 
of which must remain unchanged under all conditions. 

Alloys of Tin and Lead. Common solder for roofing pur¬ 
poses is made of 50 per cent of tin {Sn) and 50 per cent of 
lead {Ph). Fine solder for soldering tinware is formed of 
33K per cent of lead {Ph) and 66^ per cent of tin {Sn). 
Type metal is made of 25 per cent of antimony {Sh) and 75 
per cent of lead {Ph). Pewter is an alloy the components 
of which consist of 20 per cent of lead {Ph) and 80 per cent 
of tin {Sn). An alloy that has a 3^ of i per cent of arsenic 
{As) in it and 993^ per cent of lead {Ph) is used for making 
shot and bullets. Wood’s metal is an alloy that melts at a 
much lower temperature than that at which water {H2O) 
boils, and it is used for electric fuses and safety plugs for 
steam boilers and automatic sprinklers. It is made of i 
part of tin {Sn)y i part of cadmium (Cd), 2 parts of lead 
{Ph)y and 4- parts of bismuth {Bi). 

Alloys of Copper. One of the earliest alloys to be used 
is bronze, and it is made of varying proportions of lead 


THE MYSTIC METALS 


181 


(Pb), tin (Sn), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu), depending on 
what it is to be used for. Brass, of which there are also 
several varieties, is made of from i8 to 40 per cent of zinc 
(Zw) and the rest copper (Cu). German silver has no sil¬ 
ver (Ag) in its make-up but is formed of 20 per cent of 
zinc (Zn), 20 per cent of nickel (Ni), and 60 per cent of 
copper (Cu); it looks something like silver (Ag) and does 
not easily tarnish; at one time it was much used for making 
spoons. 

Gun metal is an alloy that consists of 10 per cent of tin 
( 5 ;^) and 90 per cent of copper (Cu); these proportions give 
a metal that has a rich brownish-black color and is much 
used for making art objects and the like. Monel metal is 
made of 50 per cent of nickel ( Ni) and 50 per cent of copper 
(Cu); it is largely used for sheet metal work. Finally, an 
alloy formed of 30 per cent of manganese (Mn) and 70 per 
cent of copper (Cu) makes a hard bronze that is used for 
the propellers of ships. 

Silver Alloys. The alloy of silver (Ag) that is used for 
coins is 10 per cent of copper (Cu) and 90 per cent of silver 
(Ag), while that used for silverware is made of 20 per cent 
of copper (Cu) and 80 per cent of silver (Ag). In both 
cases the copper (Cu) is put in to make the metal harder. 

Gold Alloys. To make gold (Au) hard enough for coin¬ 
age and goldware, it is also alloyed with copper, and the pro¬ 
portion of gold used is measured by a unit called a carat. 
The carat in general use is equal to 3.168 grains, or 205 
milligrams. Pure gold (Au) is said to be 24 carats fine. 
British sovereigns are 22 carats fine, and hence have 2/24 
or 1/12 of copper (Cu) in them. American and French 


182 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


gold coins are 2i 6/io carats fine, that is, they contain lO 
per cent of copper {Cu) and 90 per cent of gold {Au). 

How Amalgams Are Made. An amalgam is an alloy in 
which one metal is dissolved in another metal. The word 
amalgam comes from two Greek words that mean soft mass. 
Mercury {Hg) is used to dissolve the other metal, and all 
the common metals will dissolve in mercury {Hg), although 
platinum {Pt) and iron {Fe) do so to the least extent. 

A Sodium Amalgam. When i per cent of sodium {Na) 
is dissolved in 99 per cent of mercury {Hg), an amalgam 
is formed that is a soft mass, but when 2 per cent of sodium 
( Na) is dissolved in 98 per cent of mercury ( Hg) it forms a 
solid mass. When metallic sodium {Na) is to be used, it 
is often better to make an amalgam, as the mercury {Hg) 
will not affect its action and it can be handled easier. 

Zinc Amalgam. When the zinc {Zn) plates used in 
batteries are rubbed with mercury {Hg), the molecules of 
the former that are on the surface are mixed with those of 
the latter, and the plates are then said to be amalgamated. 
The amalgam thus formed prevents local currents from 
being set up between the impure particles in the zinc {Zn), 
and the zinc {Zn) itself, and also keeps the acid solution 
from eating the zinc {Zn) away so rapidly. 

Tin and Zinc Amalgams. Formerly mirrors were made 
by coating glass {Na20,Ca0,Si0f) with a tin amalgam 
formed of i part of tin {Sn), i part of lead {Ph), and 2 parts 
of bismuth {Bi) dissolved- in 4. parts of mercury {Hg), 
Mirrors are now made by coating them with a silver nitrate 
(^gAOs) solution. 


THE MYSTIC METALS 


183 


When I part of tin (Sn) and 2 parts of silver (Ag), or gold 
(Au), are dissolved in 2 parts of mercury {Hg), an amal¬ 
gam is formed of these metals that will harden and expand. 
For these reasons, this amalgam is used by dentists for filling 
cavities in teeth. 

A cheap amalgam for filling teeth is made by dissolving 
I part of pulverized zinc (Zn) in 2 parts of mercury (Hg), 


CHAPTER X. 


CHEMISTRY SIMPLY EXPLAINED 

Quite the least-interesting part of chemistry to the be¬ 
ginner is the theory of it, by which is meant just how and 
why different substances act and react on each other and 
produce other substances of an entirely different nature. 

Now while making experiments of any kind, but espe¬ 
cially those in chemistry, is the most fascinating part of 
the work, and you can get the same results if you follow 
the instructions given whether you know anything about 
the principles that underlie them or not, still, to work in 
this way is to miss much of the fun and more of the interest 
in it. So in this chapter I shall tell you about some things 
in chemistry which you cannot see with your physical eye 
but which you can visualize with your mind’s eye. 

What Matter Is. First of all, as you probably know, the 
world and everything in, on, or around it is made up of min¬ 
ute particles of different substances, and it is these that 
form the material bodies which we call matter. Now mat¬ 
ter of whatever kind has certain properties, and the first 
two of these are called by the long names of indestructi- 
hility and impenetrability] then solids have half a dozen 
other properties, and these are hardness, malleability, ductil¬ 
ity, brittleness, elasticity, and flexibility. Fluids include liquids 

184 


CHEMISTRY SIMPLY EXPLAINED 


185 


and gases; the former are called inelastic, while gases have 
elasticity. 

What the Properties of Matter Are. Indestnictihility is 
a word used to mean that matter cannot be created or de¬ 
stroyed. It is easy to change the shape of solid bodies, 
to make two or more substances into an entirely different 
substance, to make a solid into a liquid, and the latter into 
a gas; then, the other way about, gases can be liquefied 
and these in turn can be solidified, though these latter pro¬ 
cesses are much more diffi¬ 
cult than the former. But 
in any event there is exactly 
the same amount of matter 
left as there was before the 
operation. 

Impenetrability means 
simply that no two par¬ 
ticles of matter can be in 
the same place at the same 
time. This is perfectly ob¬ 
vious with solid bodies but 
not so much so with liquids 
and with gases. Now here 
are two experiments, the 
first of which shows easily enough the truth of the first 
statement, and the second seems to show the fallacy of it. 

First Experiment. Hold a tumbler, or a beaker, by the 
bottom and put the open end into a soup-plate half full of 
water (/72O), as shown in Fig. 127. You will see now that 
the level of the water ( II 0 ) in the glass is very much lower 



Fig. 127. —Clearly Two Bodies 
Cannot Occupy the same 
Space at the Same Time. 





















186 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


than it is outside of it. It is evident that the air in the 
glass prevents the water (H2O) from rising in the glass and 
taking up the same space that the air occupies. 

Second Experiment. Now here is an experiment of a 
different kind. Fill a beaker, or a tumbler, brimful of 

water (H^O) and then take 
a tablespoonful of pulver¬ 
ized sugar (Ci2i9’220n) and 
slowly let it fall into the 
water {H2O), a particle at a 
time, as shown in Fig. 128, 
so that the bubbles of air 
which stick to them will rise 
to the surface, and also to 
give the sugar (Ci2^220ii) 
sufficient time to dissolve. 

Curiously enough, as you 
put the sugar (Ci2^220ii) 
into the water {H2O), the 
latter does not increase in 
volume, and so run over 
the top of the glass. Now 
while it is true that two 
bodies cannot occupy the 
same space at the same 
time, these two substances 
seem to do this very thing. The explanation, however, 
is that the particles, or molecules, as they are called, of 
which the water {H2O) and the sugar (C12F22O11) are 
formed, are widely separated, and when the latter is dis- 



Fig. 128.—This Experiment seems to 
Show that Two Bodies Can Occupy 
the Same Space at the Same Time. 


























CHEMISTRY SIMPLY EXPLAINED 


187 


solved in the former, the spaces between the particles of 
the one are filled up by the particles of the other. 

Hardness is that property of a body which makes it tend 
to resist any change in shape. The degree of hardness is 
found by scratching one substance with another; thus iron 
{Fe) will scratch lead (P6); glass (TYasO, CaO, SiO2) will 
scratch iron (Fe), and the diamond (C) will scratch glass 
{Na20,Ca0, Si02). 

Malleability is that property of matter which permits a 
solid, such as iron (Fe), silver (Ag), gold (Au), or platinum 
(Pt) to be rolled out into sheets. When red-hot, iron (Fe) 
is very malleable. This is also true of steel, which is iron 
(Fe) with a small amount of carbon (C) in it. In this 
heated state, steel is rolled into sheets, rails, girders, etc. 
You have seen in the foregoing chapter that gold (Au) 
possesses this property to such an extent that it can be 
beaten into sheets so thin it will take 250,000 of them to 
make a pile i inch high. 

Ductility is a first cousin to malleability, for it is that 
property which permits a metal to be drawn out into a 
slender thread, or wire, as it is called. When metals of 
various kinds are drawn into wire, they have a greater 
strength than they would have if a cross-section of the 
same size were cut from a strip. Evidently the molecules 
of which they are formed are rolled closer together. Brittle¬ 
ness is just the opposite of malleability, and it is this prop¬ 
erty of matter that makes a sheet of glass crack when it is 
struck, and some metals are so brittle that they break when 
you try to bend them. 

Elasticity is that property of solids and gases which makes 


188 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


them return to their original shape when they have been 
sprung by the application of a force which is then released, 
as for instance a steel spring when it is bent or twisted, or a 
gas when it is compressed. Flexibility is that property 
which enables a body to be bent out of shape, without 
breaking. 

The Three Common Forms of Matter. The three forms 
of matter that we are best acquainted with are the solid, 
liquid, and gaseous, and, as I explained before, these may 
be changed one into the other. As an illustration, water 



Fig. 129.— How Atoms Form the Fig. 130.— How the Negative and Positive 

Molecule, and Molecules the Mass. Particles of Electricity form the Atom. 


(H2O) at ordinary temperatures is a liquid, but when it is 
heated to a high-enough temperature it becomes a gas, 
and when it is cooled to a low-enough temperature it be¬ 
comes a solid. Since metals can be liquefied, and these 
liquids converted into gases, and gases can be liquefied and 
then changed into solids, it is safe to conclude that all the 
elements and some of the compounds follow the same laws. 

What Matter Is Built Up of. The way we always see 
matter, even with the highest-power microscope, is in the 



CHEMISTRY SIMPLY EXPLAINED 


189 


form of a mass. A mass of any kind is built up of mole¬ 
cules, which in turn are built up of atoms, and, finally, the 
latter are built up of electro 7 is. The way in which atoms 
form molecules and the latter form masses is shown in the 
diagram in Fig. 129, and the way an atom is built up of 
electrons is shown in Fig. 130. 

The center of an atom is built up of a number of compact 
positive charges of electricity called electrons, which are 
represented by the black dots, and these are surrounded by 
less compact charges of negative electricity, also called 
electrons, are shown by the white circles. It is the 

number of positive charges of electricity an atom has that 
determines whether it is iron {Fe), or sulphur {S), or oxy¬ 
gen (0), etc. 

Now the main things for you to remember in chemistry, 
until you get into that part of it in which electric currents 
are used, is that an atom is the smallest particle into which 
matter can be divided without changing its nature, and 
two or more atoms bound together by chemical affinity 
form a molecule. 

The molecules of a solid are held together by a much 
stronger attractive force than they are in a liquid and while 
they are constantly vibrating, that is, moving to and fro, 
still they cannot move freely about, and so the body keeps 
its shape. In a liquid they move about quite freely, but 
still they are held together by an attractive force. It is, 
however, the force of gravity that pulls them down, and 
so makes the liquid take on the shape of the vessel that 
holds it. 

The action of a gas is quite different, for all the molecules 


190 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


repel each other exactly as if they were charged with the 
same sign^ of electricity, and, hence, they shoot out in every 
direction. This is the reason why a gas when it is com¬ 
pressed exerts a force against all of the inside surface of a 
tank, or a gas-bag, that holds it. 

What the Elements Are. An element is a mass of matter 
that is built up of molecules, which are, in turn, formed of 
atoms all of which are of a single kind. Two or more of 
these atoms may be linked together to make up a mole¬ 
cule, as shown in Fig. 131; this is the way that the mole¬ 
cules which form oxygen ( 0 ) are linked together. Some- 



Fig. 131.—Two Atoms of Oxygen Fig. 132. — Three Atoms of Oxygen 

Make a Molecule of Oxygen. Make a Molecule of Ozone. 


times the element itself is changed when an extra atom of 
the same kind is added to those that form the original mole¬ 
cule; thus if 3 atoms of oxygen (0) are linked together, as 
shown in Fig. 132, then the molecule becomes ozone (O3). 

Now there are 83 different elements known at the present 
time, and a table of these will be found at the back of this 
book, so that you can conveniently turn to it when you 
want to find the symbol of one of them. 

How the Elements Got Their Names. The names of the 
elements are interesting, but it is not at all easy to trace 

^ That is, either with + electricity or — electricity, for like signs repel each 
other. 


CHEMISTRY SIMPLY EXPLAINED 


191 


the older ones. Thus iron {Fe) and gold {Au) are so old 
that their names are shrouded in obscruity. Many of the 
elements that have been discovered in recent times get 
their names from various Greek and Latin words. 

Thus chlorine {Cl) comes from the Greek word which 
means yellowish-green, as this is the color of the gas. Bro¬ 
mine {Br) gets its name from the Greek word which means 
stench, and it is very aptly named, too, for it is a very smelly 
gas. Hydrogen {H) comes from two Greek words which 
mean water, and to produce, for water {H2O) is produced 
by burning hydrogen ( H) in air. In the same way, nitro¬ 
gen (N) gets its name from the Greek word which means 
nitre,^ 

The recently discovered gases, helium (He), argon {A), 
neon {Ne), krypton {Kr), and xenon (pronounced ze-non); 
{Xe) are all named from Greek words meaning respectively: 
the sun, inactive, new, hidden, and stranger. Finally, some 
of the other elements are named from their properties, such 
as radium {Ra), and some are named in honor of the coun¬ 
tries the chemists were natives of who discovered them, as 
for instance, scandium {Sc), etc. 

What the Symbols Mean. In order that the name of ' 
each element would not have to be written out every time 
it was used, or where several of them are used together, as 
in equations, the names of them have been abbreviated 
and only the first letter or two — usually the first two 
where more than one is needed — are used to indicate an 
element; thus 0 stands for oxygen, E for hydrogen, C for 
carbon, and so on. 

^ The common name of potassium nitrate {KNO^) is nitre. 


192 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


Where there are two or more elements that begin with 
the same letter (there are lo that start with C), the second 
or third letter of the name is also used as, for instance, Cl 
stands for chlorine, Ca for calcium, etc. Then again some 
of the symbols are formed of the first and second letters of 
the Latin names of the elements as Fe for iron, since ferrum 
means iron, Cu for copper, since cuprum means copper, etc. 

What the Symbols Show. Now whenever you come 
to a symbol, which let us suppose is H, you instantly know 
that it stands for hydrogen; if it is 0, you know that it means 
oxygen, and the same with all the other symbols. Further, 
when you see two symbols linked together, thus, JTO, you 
know that it means a compound is formed of the elements 
hydrogen {H) and oxygen ( 0 ). When two or more sym¬ 
bols are so linked together to indicate a compound, they 
make what is called a formula. 

Wherever you see a formula, you will almost invariably 
find a number marked in little figures after one or the other, 
or both, or all, of the symbols thus, H^O. This number 
gives you a great deal of information in a very small space 
— in fact it is the chemists’ system of short-hand — for it 
tells you at a glance that the compound contains 2 volumes 
of hydrogen {H) and i volume of oxygen ( 0 ). This com¬ 
pound is water {H2O), and so wherever you see the formula 
you will know exactly what the substance is that the elements 
have made when combined. Where there is only i volume 
of an element used, as of oxygen (0) in the formula for 
water (H2O), the figure i is not placed after it, but there 
is understood to be i volume, for if there were 2 or more, 
the number would be added to show it. 


CHEMISTRY SIMPLY EXPLAINED 


193 


While the word volume has been used in the above explana¬ 
tion, an experiment given in Chapter IV, in which you 
analyze water {H2O) by passing a current of electricity 
through it, shows that it is made up of 2 volumes of hydro¬ 
gen {H) and i of oxygen ( 0 ). It also means that when 
2 atoms of hydrogen {H) combine with i atom of oxygen 
(0) they produce a molecule of water (//2O), and so it is 
with all other compounds. 

What Equations are. When two or more elements are 
made to combine with each other and two or more other 
elements or compounds are produced by the reaction, it 
is called an equation^ because the quantities you start with 
and those that you get in the end are exactly equal. Take, 
for instance, the first equation I have given in this book 
in Chapter V under the caption of ^‘How to Make Hydro¬ 
gen without an Acid,” which is 

Z;z + KOH = K + ZnO + H T 
In this experiment, zinc {Zn) which is an element, is 
added to potassium hydroxide( KO S'),that is, caustic potash, 
and which is a compound made up, as its formula shows, of 
potassium (S), oxygen ( 0 ), and hydrogen (S). Now 
when these react on each other, the oxygen (0) of the potas¬ 
sium hydroxide {KOH) combines with the zinc {Zn) and 
forms zinc oxide {ZnO), and this sets the hydrogen {H) 
free, and as this is a gas it passes into the air, so that the 
potassium ( K) is left behind. 

In the end, though, there is exactly as much zinc {Zn), 
potassium {K), oxygen ( 0 ), and hydrogen {H) as there 
was in the beginning, and to show that they are equal be¬ 
fore and after the reaction, the equality sign is used. The 


194 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


equality sign, however, is not used by chemists nearly as 
much now as it formerly was in writing equations, a hori¬ 
zontal arrow having taken its place thus: 

Zn + KOE -> Z + ZnO + H T 

If now instead of reading Z^+ KOE equals K-^ZnO + E, 
you will read it Zn+ KO E makes K + ZnO + E, it will be 
just as sensible, though not quite so definite. As I have 
mentioned in the experiments that have gone before, where 
you find an arrow pointing up after a symbol in an equation, 
it means that the element or substance which has been set 
free is a gas, and, oppositely, where you find an arrow point¬ 
ing down, it means that the element or substance which has 
been set free is a precipitate. 


CHAPTER XI. 


FIRE, FLAME, HEAT, AND LIGHT 

While, as Darwin has pointed out, man and monkey 
bear a very strong resemblance to each other, especially 
in their anatomical make-up, still they are as widely sepa¬ 
rated as the poles in their mental attributes. One of the 
most marked features which differentiate' them in this latter 
respect is that the first knows how to make and to use fire, 
and the second shows an utter lack of any such knowledge. 

That man began to use fire long before he could make it, 
there is not the slightest doubt, and he learned how to make 
it ages before that primitive race, called the Aryans ap¬ 
peared on the Iranian plateau, whence the early Hindus, 
Persians, Egyptians, and other races branched off. And 
it is curious to note that the Aryans used the word agir for 
fire, and that the Latin word for it is ignis, while we use 
the word ignite when we want to convey the meaning that 
we have lit, or started, a fire. 

What Fire Is. When a substance combines slowly with 

oxygen (0), the process is called oxidation, and when it 

combines rapidly with oxygen (0), it is said to hum, and 

the process is called burning, or combustion, while the result 

of it in throwing off heat and light is called/fre. The words 

fire, burning, and combustion, are, however, all generally 

used to mean the same thing, and that is that a chemical 

19s 


I 


196 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


change is going on which produces both heat and light. 
Fire is, then, the chemical combination of a substance with 
some other substance that will support combustion, and 
for all ordinary purposes it is the air that supplies the oxy¬ 
gen (0) for the latter purpose, and this it does in unUmited 
quantities. 

What Flame Is. When a solid substance burns that is 
formed chiefly of charcoal (C) or coke (C) or anthracite 
coal (C), the molecules of it are heated to incandescence, 
and while this gives out heat and a glowing light, it does 
not produce a flame. But when a substance that is formed 
of a gas oi* has gas in it burns in another gas that will sup¬ 
port combustion they combine chemically, and the heated 
molecules flare up where the two gases come together, and 
this makes a flame, or blaze, as it is popularly called. 

What Heat Is. A particle of matter just large enough 
to be seen by a microscope of fairly high power is formed 
of 8 or lo billions of molecules. Now when a substance 
burns, the rapid chemical combination that takes place 
between it and the oxygen (0), or other substance which 
supports combustion, sets the molecules of which they are 
formed into violent vibration, that is, it gives them a rapid 
to and fro movement. In turn, these swiftly moving mole¬ 
cules strike those of the air, and when these reach the body 
they set the thermal nerves of the latter into vibration; these 
vibrations are transmitted to the brain and we get the sensa¬ 
tion of heat. Or if they impinge on some inanimate mass 
of matter they make the molecules of it vibrate, and so it 
in turn gets hot. 

What Light is. When a substance of any kind burns it 


FIRE, FLAME, HEAT, AND LIGHT 


197 


gives out light. Now in the same way that the vibrating 
molecules of a burning substance set the air into motion 
they also set the ether into motion. The ether is a very 
thin and transparent kind of matter that fills aU space 
which is not actually taken up by matter of other kinds, 
and it fills the pores of the densest metals. It is the sub¬ 
stance by, in, and through which not only light, but all 
other electromagnetic waves travel. When the light waves 
reach the optic nerves of your eyes they set up the sensa¬ 
tion of light in your brain, and they also have a very decided 
action on substances of various kinds, as you will see later 
in the chapter on photography. 

Ways of Making Heat and Light. Our sun is, of course, 
the original source of all heat and light, and however these 
are produced, they are directly traceable to the sun. Heat 
is not always accompanied by light, but burning is; on the 
other hand, light may be had without any appreciable 
amount of heat accompanying it. 

When heat is produced without light it means that the 
molecules of the substance that is heated are not vibrating 
fast enough to produce light. Oppositely disposed, the 
molecules of certain substances are capable of vibrating 
fast enough to set up light and yet not slow enough to pro¬ 
duce heat, as, for instance, the phosphorescent light of a 
fire-fly, or a glow-worm, or the Geissler tube when it is 
energized by an induction coil. 

The three chief ways of making heat are by friction, by 
chemical action, and by electricity, and in all cases light 
follows if the heat set up is sufficient to make the molecules 
of the substance vibrate fast enough. The only kind of 


198 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


heat and light that we are interested in now is that pro¬ 
duced by chemical action. 

How a Candle Burns. Light a candle and examine the 
flame of it through a piece of tinted glass and you will see 
that it consists of three parts, as shown in Fig. 133, and 
these are an inner dark part containing gas which is wait¬ 
ing its turn to be burned; a middle bright 
cone where the particles of carbon (C) 
are heated to incandescence and which 
gives the light; and a thin outer cone of 
blue flame which is in direct contact with 
the air and gives little or no light. 

Now this is what takes place when 
you light a candle. First, the heat melts 
the tallow, or wax, and this rises in the 
wick by capillary attraction;^ as it reaches 
the tip of the wick where the heat is the 
greatest it is converted for the most part 
into a vapor,and this burns, which makes 
the flame. It is the carbon (C) of the 
tallow, or wax, which is raised to a white 
heat, while the hydrogen {H) of it bums 
with a blue flame outside of it and has 
no lighting power whatever. 

How Ventilation Affects Combustion. Take a quart 
glass jar and fit a cork into the mouth of it; now bore two 
34-inch holes through the cork and push a glass tube 3 
inches long through one of them and another tube 8 or 10 
inches long through the other one so that the former will 

^ 1 Any text-book on Physics will give you an explanation of this phenomenon. 

























FIRE, FLAME, HEAT, AND LIGHT 199 

extend just inside the jar and the latter will reach nearly 
to the bottom of it, as shown in Fig. 134.. 

Now put a lighted candle inside of the jar and you will 
observe that as it burns, vapor of water {H2O) and car¬ 
bon dioxide (CO2) escape through the short tube. As they 
do so, fresh, cool air from the outside flows through the 
long tube into the jar and provides the necessary oxygen 
(O) to support the burning process. 

This experiment done, put your 
finger over the end of the long 
tube so that the fresh air is cut 
off, and the flame will soon begin 
to grow smaller, and finally it will 
go out altogether. 

How the Davy Safety-Lamp 
Works. Sir Humphrey Davy in¬ 
vented a safety-lamp, so that 
when miners who carried it entered 
a shaft where there was methane 
(CH4)j or fire-dampy as it is gen¬ 
erally called, and which when 
mixed with air is very explosive, 
it would not ignite. His safety- 
lamp consists of a common oil 
lamp, the flame of which is surrounded by a wire gauze 
cover, as shown in Fig. 135. Now while enough oxygen ( 0 ) 
will reach the flame to keep it burning, the flame cannot 
get outside of the gauze to ignite the explosive gases. 

To make an experiment which shows the principle of the 
safety-lamp, take a piece of fine wire gauze about 8 inches 



Fig. 134. —How Ventilation 
Affects Combustion. 































200 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


on the sides and which has about lo meshes to the running 
inch and hold it in the flame of a candle with a pair of pliers, 
as shown in Fig. 136, and you will see that the flame re¬ 
mains beneath it. The reason it does not go through the 
gauze is because the wire of which it is made cools down 

the flame to such an extent that it 
puts it out, but the smoke and 
other gases of combustion pass 
through it readily enough. 

Now hold a lighted match 
above the gauze and the gases will 
ignite and will make another 
separate flame. The fact that 
a flame cannot pass through a 
piece of gauze is the principle, 
then, upon which the Davy safety- 
lamp is based. 

How an Alcohol Lamp Burns. 

It often happens that a flame does 
not give out any useful light, 
and usually this kind of a flame 
is very hot. This is the case 
when pure hydrogen (H) burns in oxygen ( 0 ), generally 
obtained from the air. Now methyl alcohol {CH4P) con¬ 
tains, as its formula shows, 4 times as much hydrogen (H) 
as it does carbon (C). 

To produce a flame that has no useful lighting power, 
you must have not only a certain amount of oxygen (0) 
present, but it must be mixed with the hydrogen {H), 
When hydrogen (H) is mixed with oxygen ( 0 ), it gives a 












































FIRE, FLAME, HEAT, AND LIGHT 


201 


very hot flame, and this condition is fulfilled in a very sim¬ 
ple manner in a lamp that burns alcohol {CH^O). 

How Oil and Gas Lamps Burn. When we want a bright 
light we must burn compounds that contain hydrogen {H) 
and carbon (C), and certain vegetable and mineral oils 
have them in the right proportions. Generally speaking, 
an oil to burn with a bright light must have a large amount 
of carbon (C) compared with the hydrogen {H) in it, and. 



Fig. 136.—The Principle on Which the Davy Safety-Lamp Works. 

further, its illuminating power also depends on the amount 
of oxygen (0) in which it burns, and this must be supplied 
gradually and from the outside. 

Illuminating oils, such as kerosene {CiqE22Ci^Hz^ and 
gases such as coal-gas do not contain oxygen (0), 

and these burn, therefore, with the brightest light. A 
tallow candle contains a little oxygen 













202 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


(0),and it burns with a less bright flame than oil or gas, 
while alcohol {CH^O) contains considerable oxygen (0) 
in proportion to its hydrogen (^), and so it burns without 
any brightness whatever. 



How a Bunsen Burner Works. While coal gas burns 

with a bright flame and with little 
heat in an ordinary burner, it can be 
made to burn with a flame that is 
hot, gives no light, and which does 
not smoke, by using what is called 
a Bunsen burner. It is so-called 
because it was invented by Bunsen, 
a German scientist who lived from 
1791 to i860. 

A Bunsen burner in its simplest 
form consists of a brass tube 
inch or inch in diameter with a couple of air 
holes drilled through it near one end. A ring is slipped 
over the tube so that the amount of air which enters the 
holes can be controlled, and it is then connected with the 
pipe that supplies the coal gas, all of which is shown in Fig. 
137. The purpose of the air-holes is to supply enough 
oxygen (0) to burn up the carbon (C) in the gas, and this 
makes the flame not only non-luminous but at the same 
time very much hotter. 


Fig. 137.—The Bunsen Burner. 


EXPERIMENTS WITH A BUNSEN BURNER. 

How to Light the Burner. The right way to light a 
Bunsen burner is to turn on the gas and then hold a match 
to one side of the top of it, upon which the gas will catch 
















FIRE, FLAME, HEAT, AND LIGHT 


203 


fire. If you hold the match over the top of the tube, the 
pressure of the gas may blow it out before the gas ignites. 

The Luminous Flame of the Burner. Slip the ring over 
the holes in the burner so that it will cut off the air supply 
and, hence, the oxygen (0), and you will see that the flame 
gives out light, and if you hold a sheet of glass, or card¬ 
board, over it, a film of carbon (C), which is ordinarily called 
soot, will be deposited on it. 



NON -LUMINOUS 
CONE 

CONE OF 
LIGHT 

DEEP BLUE 
CONE 

DARK CONE 
OF UNBURNT GAS 

burner 



NON-LUMINOUS 
CONE 

deep BLUE 
CONE 

DARK CONE 
OF UN BURNT GAS 

BURNER 


Fig. 138,—A Luminous Gas Flame. Fig. 139.—A Non-Luminous Gas Flame. 


Now examine the flame and you will see that it is formed 
of four parts, as shown in Fig. 138; named, these are a dark 
blue cone next to the burner, next, a deep blue cone, then, 
a luminous cone containing glowing particles of carbon (C), 
and, finally, a colorless cone, or sheath, on the outside. 

The Non-Luminous Flame of the Burner. After you 
have made the above experiment, slip the ring up and away 
from the air-holes, and as you do so you will see that the 
characteristics of the flame are changed. First of all, the 
























204 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


glowing carbon (C) disappears and with it the light of the 
flame; at the same time the deep blue cone, which is the 
one that gives the heat, expands and takes its place, as 
shown in Fig. 139. 

A closer examination of the flame will reveal the fact that 
the extreme tip is the hottest part of it, the next, or middle 
cone is not so hot, while the dark cone at the bottom is quite 

cool; this means that the 
gas is not burning at this 
point, and if you will 
put a small glass tube 
into it the gas will flow 
through it, and you can 
light it, as shown in 
Fig. I TO. 

How to Make Colored 
Flames. To produce 
beautiful colored flames, 
get a piece of pumice ^ 
stone, which is very por¬ 
ous and non-combustible, and fashion it into a ball about 
I inch in diameter; now fasten an iron wire around it, then 
dip it into any one of the following solutions and hold in the 
flame of an alcohol lamp or, better, a Bunsen burner, and 
the salt of which the solution is formed will give a charac¬ 
teristic color. 

The solutions are made by dissolving the salts in water 
{H2O), and these should be quite strong. Strontium chlor¬ 
ide (SrCl2foH20) will give a bright red flame; calcium 
chloride {CaCh) will give a reddish-orange flame; copper 



Fig. 140.—Proving the Dark Cone 
to be Unburnt Gas. 















FIRE, FLAME, HEAT, AND LIGHT 


205 


chloride {CuCl‘^ will give a bluish-green flame, and sodium 
chloride {NaCl) will give a brilliant yellow flame. 

To see the colored flames to the best advantage, you 
must burn the salts in a dark room. A most curious effect 
is produced by burning sodium chloride {NaCl) so that the 
light from it will shine in the faces of the spectators, giving 
them a ghastly appearance. To prevent the solutions 
from dripping into the tube of the burner and so stopping 
it up, it is a good plan to lay it on its side, as shown in Fig. 

141. 



How to Make Charcoal. Our sun is the original source 
of all the light, heat, and power we have here on earth, as 
well as everything else, and hence the energy stored up in 
all our fuels has come from it. For instance, the light and 
heat of the sun make plants grow, and these when large 
enough form trees, and are composed of wood. 

In turn, wood is largely made of carbon (C), and by heat- 

























206 


THE BOY CHE^IIST 


ing it in an enclosed space so that little or no air can get to 
it the gases are forced out of it and nearly pure carbon (C) 
is left behind. Now when carbon (C) is made to bum in 
oxygen (0), and the air supplies the latter, a very hot, flame¬ 
less fire results. 

To make a little charcoal (C), drive three sticks, each 
about 18 inches long into the ground, about 2 inches apart, 
then build up a conical pile of wood around them and leave 



a little space between the sticks, as shovm in Fig. 14.2. This 
done, plaster it all over with mud so that the air cannot get 
through it to the sticks and then make a dozen holes, about 
I inch in diameter, through the mud covering, around the 
base, and also let the top remain open. This is so that 
when you light the wood the gases will slowly burn out of 
it and yet not burn the carbon (C) there is in it. 

How Charcoal is Made. \Mien the wood begins to burn, 
the used gases pass out of the kiln and you will see them as 















FIRE, FLAME, HEAT, AND LIGHT 


207 


a thick black smoke. After 24. hours or so, all the gases in 
the wood will be burnt out and only charcoal (C), which is 
an impure kind of carbon (C), is left behind. The sub¬ 
stances in the wood that will not burn are left behind as ash. 

What Coal is. Wdien trees and other plant matter are 
covered over with sand or clay, as the great forests were 
in the pre-historic ages, so that the air cannot reach them. 



Fig. 143.—A Miniature Gas Works. 

they decompose, that is, they oxidize, and the water {H^O) 
and gases and oils that are in them are set free, and the 
matter that is left behind is called coal (C). 

Now there are two kinds of coal (C), and these are hitumi- 
noiis, or soft, coal, and anthracite, or hard, coal. Bituminous 
coal is coal that still contains large amounts of hydrogen 































208 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


(H) and oils of various kinds, and, hence, this kind is used 
for making illuminating gas. The coal is put into closed 
retorts, and after the gases and oils have been driven out of 
it by heat, there remain behind coke and coal-tar^ and from 
the latter, dyes, perfumes, and medicines are made. Anthra¬ 
cite coal is nearly pure carbon (C), and it burns without 
flame, makes very little smoke, and leaves but a small 
amount of ash behind; it is, therefore, the most suitable 
kind of coal for heating purposes. 

How to Make Coal Gas. Take a clay pipe and fill it 
with powdered soft coal and then close up the mouth of it 
with a piece of clay. Now heat the pipe in the flame of 
your alcohol lamp, or, better, because it is hotter, your 
Bunsen burner, and the hydrogen {H) will be driven out, 
and this you can light at the end of the stem, as shown in 
Fig. 143. When all the gas has passed out, you will find 
a little lump of hard, black porous matter in the pipe bowl, 
and this is coke, while the sticky substance that remains is 
coal-tar. 


CHAPTER XII. 


HOW TO MAKE PHOTOGRAPHS 

The art of photography is made up of three parts: light, 
optics, and chemistry. This may be explained by saying 
that light either coming directly from an object or reflected 
by it and made to pass through a lens of the proper kind, 
will form an image of the object on a fiat surface, and if this 
is chemically prepared, the image can be fixed there and a 
picture, or photograph, as it is called, is thus made. 

What Light is. In order to know how light acts, you 
must know something about its nature. In Chapter XI 
I told you that when a substance burns it gives out light; 
that the vibrating molecules of a burning substance set the 
ether into motion, and that it is by, in, and through the 
latter that light-waves travel. Now the two following ana¬ 
logues will make clearer what light and light-waves are: 
First, you have often noticed that when you throw a stone 
into a pool of still water, little ring-like waves, or circular 
ripples, will be formed around the place where the stone 
has struck the water, and these will expand until either 
their energy is used up or they are stopped by the shore. 
In other words, the stone sends out water-waves, as shown 
in Fig. 144. 

Now, to go a step farther, if you strike a bell it vibrates, 
that is, the rim of it moves rapidly to and fro, as shown in 

209 


210 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


Fig. I4-S. These rapid movements are imparted to the air 
and set up waves in it, and while these are really air-waves, 
they are called sound-waves. These waves spread out in 
every direction and keep on expanding until they either 
strike some object and are reflected by it, or their energy 
is used up by in overcoming friction and other resistances. 

Finally, if you ignite a substance that will burn, as, for 
instance, a candle, the heated molecules given off by it will 
be thrown into exceedingly rapid vibration^ that is, a rapid 



Fig. 144. —How a Stone Sends Out Water-Waves. 


to-and-fro motion, and these will set up waves in the ether 
which are called light-waves, see Fig. 146, but which are 
really only ether-waves. Like water-waves and sound-waves, 
light-waves are radiated in every direction, but normally 
travel in straight lines, and they keep on going until they 
are stamped out by the resistance they meet. 

How Light Acts. Suppose you closed your eyes and 
that you held a string with a cork tied to it, and resting 
anywhere on the surface of the pool of water into which a 
































































HOW TO MAKE PHOTOGRAPHS 


211 


stone was thrown. When the water-waves were sent out 
by the impact of the stone you would be able to sense their 
presence by the pull of the string every time the wave made 
the cork bob up and down, and the sensation of touch would 
by carried by the afferent nerves to your brain. 

So in a like, but very much more refined way, wherever 
you may be, as long as you are within earshot of the sound¬ 
waves sent out by a bell, they will impinge on your ear, and 



Fig. 145. —How a Bell Sends out Sound-Waves. 


the auditory nerves will convey them to your brain, where 
the sensation of sound is set up. Likewise, wherever you 
may be within range of the light-waves sent out, or reflected, 
by an object, the lens of your eye will form an image of it 
on the retina, and the optic nerves will transmit it to your 
brain, where the sensation of light, of form, and of color is 
produced. 

Now light not only acts on the eye so that we are able 
to see the images it forms, but it has a decided action on 





212 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


the growth of plants in that it builds up compounds in and 
for them; thus it makes the green coloring-matter of plants, 
called chlorophyl, and the action of light on this compound 
forms formaldehyde (CZ/^20), which is a gas with a stifling 
odor, and this in turn is converted into sugar(Ci2 -S^220ll)* 
Not only plants but animals must have light in order to 
grow and, hence, its action on these bodies is to build up 
their tissues. While the action of light on plants and ani¬ 
mals cannot be seen, there are compounds that break down. 



LIGHT WAVES 


Fig. 146.— How a Candle Sends out Light-Waves. 


that is, they are decomposed, when exposed to it, and the 
effects of these are very readily observed. 

How Light Acts on Silver. Of all the compounds that 
light has been found to act upon, those formed of silver 
(Ag) are the most sensitive, and for this reason they are 
used in photography. Of these salts, silver nitrate (Hg NOs), 
silver chloride (AgCl), and silver bromide (AgBr) are the 
most easily affected. Silver nitrate {AgNO^) was the first 
salt that was found to break down under the action of light, 
and then followed silver chloride (AgCl), which is still more 
















HOW TO MAKE PHOTOGRAPHS 


213 


sensitive, and, finally, silver bromide {AgBr), which is the 
most sensitive of all. 

How to Make Silver Nitrate. Silver nitrate {AgNO^, 
which used to be called lunar caustic^ is the starting-point 
for making the other salts of silver {Ag). To make a few 
crystals, put 2 fluid ounces of pure water (//2O) in a beaker, 
then add fluid ounce of nitric acid {HNO^ to it and 
drop a bit of pure silver (Ag) the size of a dime into the 
solution. Stir it with a glass rod, and when the silver (Ag) 
has dissolved let it stand and crystals of silver nitrate 
(AgNOs) will be formed, nitric oxide (NO) gas will pass off, 
and the liquid left behind will be water (H2O) thus: 

Ag HNOs + H2O = AgNOz + NO t + II2O 
Silver Nitric acid Water Silver Nitric Water 

nitrate oxide 

Experiments with a Silver Nitrate Solution. Nearly 
fill a clean 2-ounce bottle with distilled water (H2O), drop 
in the crystals of silver nitrate (AgNO^, put in the cork, 
and shake until the crystals are dissolved. If, now, you 
will place the bottle where the light of the sun will fall on 
it, no chemical action will take place and the solution will 
remain colorless. Now take a sheet of paper, pour the 
solution over it and expose it to the light of the sun, and 
you will find that the light will quickly act on it and turn 
it a brown color. 

The question is why will not the light act on the solution 
when it is in the bottle as it does when it is spread out on 
the paper. The answer is because light will decompose 
the salts of silver (Ag) only when the latter is in contact 
with organic matter. By organic matter is meant plant or 


214 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


animal matter that is living or has once lived. Paper, as 
you know, is formed of cellulose (Ce-S'ioOg), and it is of 
this compound that plants are largely built up. 

How to Make Silver Chloride. Dissolve I teaspoonful 
of sodium chloride (A^aC/), that is, common table salt, in a 
test tube full of water (2720), then dissolve the same amount 



Fig. 147. —How Silver Chloride is Made. 


of silver nitrate {AgNO:^ in a test tube one-fourth full of 
water. After the salts have dissolved, pour the solutions 
of both test tubes into a beaker, as shown in Fig. 147, and 
stir them together with a glass rod, and a milky-white 
precipitate will be thrown down, which is silver chloride 
{AgCl). The reaction is called a double decomposition, 
in which the silver (Ag) of the silver nitrate {AgNOz) 















HOW TO MAKE PHOTOGRAPHS 


215 


changes places with the sodium ( Na) of the sodium chloride 
{NaCl), and it may be expressed thus: 

NaCl + AgNO^ = NaNO^ + AgCl i 
Sodium Silver Sodium Silver 

chloride nitrate nitrate chloride 

The next thing to do is to put a sheet of filter paper in a 
glass funnel and then set this in a bottle; now pour the solu¬ 
tion with the precipitate into the funnel. The solution 
will run through it and the precipitate will remain behind. 

Action of Light on Silver Chloride. Put a tablespoonful 
of water (H2O) in a test tube, and after scraping the silver 
chloride (AgCI) from the filter paper spread it over a sheet 
of unglazed paper and let it dry. If, now, you will expose 
it to the light of the sun you will see that it turns a purplish 
color first, then gets brown, and finally black. 

Evidently the light has produced a change in the silver 
chloride (AgCl)j and, in truth, it has acted on it in such a 
way that the compound has broken down into the two 
elements of which it was formed, namely, silver {Ag) and 
chlorine {Cl), as the following equation shows: 

AgCl p Light = Ag C/ T 

Silver chloride Light Silver Chlorine 

The chlorine {Cl), which is a gas, passes off, and the very 
fine brown, or black, film that remains behind is formed of 
minute particles of pure silver {Ag). It is this action of 
light on silver compounds that makes it possible to take a 
picture on a glass plate, a celluloid fihn, or a paper sheet; 
there are, however, other operations necessary, the chief 


216 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


one being to fix the picture so that it will not fade out, and 
this will be described presently. 

How to Make a Pinhole Camera. To understand how 
light forms a picture, or image, as it is more properly called, 
of an object, we shall have to leave the chemistry of it for 
the moment and get into the physics of it. The simplest 
way is to make a pinhole camera, by means of a pair of 
open-end, rectangular pasteboard cases, each of which is, 
say, 4 inches wide and high and 6 inches long, so made 
that one will slide snugly into the other, as shown in Fig. 148. 

Now glue a thin disk of 
cardboard over one end of 
the larger case and make a 
pinhole in the center of it, 
and then secure a sheet of 
oiled tissue paper over one 
end of the smaller case and 
slide them together. Your 
pinhole camera is then ready 
to use. Hold it in a line 
with the object the image or picture of which you want to 
see on the screen, as the oiled tissue paper is now called, 
focus it, that is, slide the smaller case in or out until the 
image on the screen is as sharp as you can get it. 

How the Camera Works. You will observe that, curi¬ 
ously, the image on the tissue paper is reversed, that is, it 
is upside down, but the reason for this will be clearly under¬ 
stood by a look at the diagram shown in Fig. 149. Now 
light-waves travel in straight lines and they are sent out 
in every direction from every point of a candle or other 



Fig. 148.—How to Make a 
Pinhole Camera. 























HOW TO MAKE PHOTOGRAPHS 


217 


object, but of all the waves sent out from a particular point, 
as for instance the one marked A, only those will go through 
the pinhole, B, that are in a straight line with it, and then 
they pass on to the screen, where they strike it at C. In 
the same way, only the waves from the point marked D 
can get through the pinhole, B, that are in a straight line 
with it, and these impinge on the screen at E; and this is 
true of all other parts of the candle or other object. 

How a Real Camera is Made. A real camera differs 
from the one just described in that it has a lens instead of 



*a pinhole in the front part of it, and either a plate-holder to 
hold the sensitized glass dry plate^ or a roll-holder to carr^" 
the spools, where films are used. A cross-section of a real 
camera is shown in Fig. 150. By using a lens in a camera, 
a great deal more light can be got through it than through 
a pinhole, and this makes for speed of exposure, and, further, 
and what is equally important, the image is very much 
more clearly defined. 

How Dry Plates and Films are Made. To make a dry 
plate or a film so that it will be sensitive to the light and 


















218 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


free from pinholes and spots is an expert’s job, and he must 
have a specially equipped laboratory for the purpose. How¬ 
ever, I will tell you how it is done and you can try to make 
them just as I did when I was a boy of your age, only I had 
the decided advantage of having worked for a dry-plate 
manufacturer. 

Now just as silver chloride {AgCl) is more sensitive to 
light than silver nitrate {AgNO^, so silver bromide {AgBr) 



Fig. 150.—How a Real Camera Works. 


is more sensitive than silver chloride {AgCl). You can 
make enough silver bromide {AgBr) emulsion to coat a 
dozen 4 by 5 glass plates in this way: put i ounce each of 
silver nitrate {AgNO^ and ammonium bromide {NH^Br) 
in a beaker, with enough water {H2O) to dissolve them; 
now put 2 ounces of clear gelatine, which is an organic com¬ 
pound, in the beaker with enough water {H2O) to cover it; 
gently heat them over the flame of your alcohol lamp until 

























HOW TO MAKE PHOTOGRAPHS 


219 


the silver nitrate {AgNO^ and ammonium bromide 
{NH^Br) react on each other and form ammonium nitrate 
(W//4WO3) and silver bromide {AgBr), which is a double 
decomposition, thus: 

AgNO^ + NH^Br = NH^NO^ + AgBr 
Silver Ammonium Ammonium Silver 

nitrate bromide nitrate bromide 

You will easily know when this reaction has taken place, 
for the silver bromide {AgBr) will form in little drops, or 



Fig. 151.—Coating the Plate with Silver Emulsion. 


granules, all through the gelatine solution, or emulsion,^ 
as it is now called. Now let the latter get cool, becoming 
about as thick as jelly, and cut it up into bits about inch 
square. The next thing to do is to soak the emulsion in 
water ( IIlO) over night in order to wash all the ammonium 
nitrate ( N AO3) out of it, leaving only the silver brom¬ 
ide {AgBr). 

1 Strictly speaking, an emulsion is a liquid in which the solid particles of 
some other substance are held in suspension, that is, evenly distributed 
through it. 


220 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


This done, melt the emulsion and then hold a perfectly 
clean glass plate in one hand, as shown in Fig. 151, pour a 
tablespoonful of it in the center, quickly tilt the plate so 
that the emulsion will flow all over it, then lay it on a per¬ 
fectly level surface and let it dry over-night. All these 
operations must be performed in a dark room illuminated 
only by a very feeble red light, and while there should be 
a good current of air circulating in the room, it must be 
absolutely free from dust. Films are made by coating long 
strips of celluloid with the same kind of silver bromide 
{AgBr) emulsion as that described above, but it takes 
machinery of a special kind to do this evenly. 

How a Picture is Made on a Dry Plate or a Film. When 
you make a picture with your camera, the image formed by 
the lens falls on the dry plate, or film, and the light instantly 
acts on the silver bromide {AgBr) on the gelatine surface 
in proportion to its intensity, and decomposes the silver 
bromide {AgBr) into particles of pure silver (Ag) and bro¬ 
mine (-Br). The result is that the silver (^g) remains on 
the plate or film as a brown powder and the latter is set 
free, thus: 

AgBr + Light = Ag + Br 
Silver bromide Light Silver Bromine 

This reaction, which may take place in the i/iooo part 
of a second, or less, cannot be seen in the sensitized surface, 
and in order to bring out the picture, the plate must be 
developedjto dissolve and wash away those parts of the silver 
bromide {AgBr) which the light has not acted on. 

How to Develop a Dry Plate or a Film. To develop a 
plate, or a film, you must soak it in a solution called a de- 


HOW TO MAKE PHOTOGRAPHS 


221 


veloper, and this you can make by dissolving 30 grains of 
hydroquinone {{KO)2CrH^^ 10 grains of metol, 350 grains 
of sodium sulphite grains sodium carbonate 

{Na^COi), and 5 grains of potassium bromide {KBr),din.d 
10 ounces of distilled water {H2O). In making up this 
developer, use only the very best chemicals, and see to it 
that the sodium sulphite {Na2SO^ and sodium carbonate 
{Na2COs) are good clear crystals. 

Now when you soak the exposed plate, or film, in this 
developer, the gelatine is softened by it and the bromine 
{Br) that has been separated from the silver bromide (AgBr) 
by the action of light is absorbed by the developer, and this 
leaves the pure silver behind. As the development 
goes on, you can see the picture slowly “come up,’’ that is, 
come into view — a most fascinating process — as the con¬ 
trast grows greater between the parts which the light has 
affected and those which it has not affected. The parts, 
however, that were white of the object which was photo¬ 
graphed will show in the developed plate as blacky because 
the silver (Ag) that has remained behind is black, and, 
oppositely, the parts of the object that were black will show 
as white^ for here the silver bromide {AgBr) was not affected. 
In other words, the black and white parts on the plate, or 
film, are just the reverse of those of the object that was 
photographed, hence, the plate is now called a negative. 

How to Fix the Picture. If the developed plate, or film, 
should again be exposed to the light it would decompose 
the remaining silver bromide {AgBr), and all of it would 
be decomposed into silver {Ag) and bromine {Br). To 
keep this action from taking place when the picture has 


222 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


reached the proper stage of development, it must be fixed, 
as it is called, and, naturally, thus must also be done in a 
dark room. 

To fix the plate, or film, you must soak it in a fixing hath, 
which is simply a solution that you make by dissolving 
pound of sodium thiosulphate, (iVa25203), often incorrectly 
called hyposulphite, or hypo, for short, in 3^ pint of boiling 
water (fi^20),and then adding another pint of cold water 

{H2O) to it. Keep this in 
a corked bottle until you 
want to use it. When 
you are ready to fix the 
picture, put the plate, 
or film, in a glass tray 
three-fourths full of the 
hypo fixing bath and let 
it stay there until all the 
silver bromide (AgBr), 
not acted on by the light, is dissolved out; you will 
know when this action has taken place, for the opaque 
whiteness of the plate disappears, and you will be able to 
see the transparent picture by holding the plate, or film, 
to the light. 

Let the negative remain in the fixing bath for hour 
or more so that every particle of the silver bromide {AgBr) 
may be dissolved, and then wash it for an hour under run¬ 
ning water {H2O), or in many changes of it, in order to 
remove all the hypo with which the gelatine coating is sat¬ 
urated and which if not removed will stain the negative. 
After washing the negative, set it in a rack, see Fig. 152, 



Fig. 152.—A Negative-Rack. 


HOW TO MAKE PHOTOGRAPHS 


223 


and let it dry slowly in a cool place where there is a good 
circulation of air. 

How to Make a Print from a Negative. Now while the 
white and black parts of the picture on the negative are 
just the reverse of what they were of the object you photo¬ 
graphed, you can make a positive, or as many as you want, 
on paper or on glass. When positive copies are made on 
paper they are called prints, and when they are made on 
glass they are called transparencies, if they are to be viewed 
by the light shining through them, or lantern slides, if they 
are to be projected on a screen. 

Kinds of Printing Papers — Silver Papers. There are 
different kinds of papers used for making photographic 
prints, but all are coated with either a nitrate, a chloride, 
or a bromide silver compound. Those coated with silver 
nitrate {AgNO^ are slow printing papers and must be 
exposed to the sunlight, hence, they are called printing-out 
papers. There are two kinds of printing-out papers^ the 
first of which is known as silver paper. This is coated with 
albumen, which is white-of-egg, and therefore an organic sub¬ 
stance, and then with a solution of silver nitrate 
the second is called solid paper, and this is coated with gela¬ 
tine, also an organic substance, and then with a silver chlor¬ 
ide {AgCl). 

How to Make a Print. To make a print, you need a 
printing-jrame,2JS> shown in Fig. 153. Take the back out of 
it, lay the negative in the frame with the film side up, that 
is, toward the back, and lay the sheet of sensitized paper 
on it, with its film side down, that is, next to the negative. 
Now put the back in the frame and clip the ends of the 



224 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


springs, which are pivoted to the back, under the catches 
that are fixed to the frame. 

If you are making a silver or solid print, set the frame 
out of doors so that the sunlight will fall directly on the 
negative. From time to time take the frame into a more 
subdued light and unclip one of the springs. Then you 
can lift up half of the back (it is hinged together) and look 
at the print to see how it is coming on. The print when 
ready to be taken out of the frame will be a positive, for 
the light that goes through the clear parts of the negative 
will turn the paper brown or 
black, and, conversely, where 
the negative is black, the light 
cannot get through, and so 
the paper remains white. 

How to Tone the Print. 

The appearance of a silver 
print is never very pleasing 
as it comes from the frame, 
and to give it a soft rich color 
you must tone it. This you 
do by putting it in a tray that contains a toning solution, 
as it is called; it consists of two solutions which you make 
up as follows: put 7 drams of distilled water {H2O) in a 
small bottle and dissolve 7 grains of auric chloride {AuCQ, 
or gold chloride, as it is commonly called, in it and label it. 
Solution No. i. Then put 5 ounces of water (H2O) in 
another bottle and dissolve 220 grains of ammonium sul- 
phocyanide {{NK4)2HSCN) in it and label it. Solution 
No. 2. When you are ready to tone the print, put 



Fig. 153.—A Printing-Frame. 















































HOW TO MAKE PHOTOGRAPHS 


225 


ounces of water {H2O) in a tray and then add i dram of 
Solution No. i; stir it with a glass rod slowly, and then put 
in I dram of the Solution No. 2; let it stand for 10 minutes, 
and it will then be ready for use. Now put the print in 
this solution and keep turning it over constantly until a 
rich deep-brown color is reached; next, wash it in two or three 
changes of water (//2O), and then fix it for 15 minutes in a 
fixing bath made of ounce of sodium thiosulphate 
{Na2S20z) dissolved in 5 ounces of water (^"20), and in 
which you have stirred a drop or two of liquid ammonia 
{NHjDH). 

After fixing the print for hour, wash it in running 
water {H2O) for an hour or so, or in numerous changes of 
water (H2O). Finally, dry the print, and you will have 
a finished photograph. 

How to Make a Velox Print. About 20 years ago a paper 
was introduced under the trade name of velox. This new 
kind of paper, which is coated with a silver bromide (AgBr) 
emulsion like plates and films, gives a beautiful black-and- 
white print. The great advantage of using it lies in the 
fact that it can be printed by gas-light — hence in England 
it is called gas-light paper — and while it must be developed, 
like a plate or a film, this does not take anywhere nearly 
the length of time that printing and toning a silver print 
does. Because of these advantages it soon found favor 
with both amateur and professional photographers, and 
it was not many years before the silver print was entirely 
supplanted by it except for commercial art work. 

How to Make and Use Blue Paper. This paper is by 
all odds the cheapest and simplest kind to make and use, 



226 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


since a salt of iron is employed for sensitizing the surface 
of it, and it only needs to be washed thoroughly to bring 
out the picture and to fix it. For these reasons it is largely 
used by engineers and architects for making prints of draw¬ 
ings and plans, but you will find it gives you pretty prints of 
many objects and especially of marine views. While the 
paper is easy to make, still, owing to the poisonous nature 
of the chemicals employed, I would advise you to buy it 
ready-made. 

Blue paper is made by dissolving 34 ounce of green iron 
ammonio-citrate in i ounce of water (S'2O), and the same 
amount of potassium ferrocyanide {KzFe{CN)^ in a like 
amount of water (S2O). The two solutions are now mixed 
together and the surface of some unruled sheets of writing 
paper, or other well-sized paper, is coated over with it by 
means of a brush. It is then dried in a dark room, after 
which it is ready to be printed in the sunlight like silver 
paper. The only other operation is to wash it for 3^ hour 
in running water (S2O), or in many changes of it. 


CHAPTER XIII. 


THE WHITE MAGIC OF CHEMISTRY 

There are a great many experiments in chemistry that 
have been used by magicians the world over during the 
last half-century, and these are as pleasing to-day as when 
they were just invented. In recent years, however, the 
knowledge of chemistry and of chemical processes has 
advanced to such an extent that the average spectator is 
not so easily deceived as he once was, but, curiously enough, 
even though he has an idea of how the tricks are done, in 
the last analysis, the effects are still quite as wonderful, for 
chemistry is magic. In this chapter I shall tell you how 
to perform enough startling experiments for a show that 
will last for half an hour or more. 

Pouring Wine and Water from the Same Pitcher.— The 
Effect. Like a miracle of old, you pour from the same 
pitcher wine or water {H2O) as the audience calls for it. 
On the table you have a clear glass pitcher full of water 
{H2O) and half a dozen empty tumblers standing in front 
of it, as shown in Fig. 154. After a few remarks on mak¬ 
ing your own wine you ask the audience which it prefers, 
wine or water {H2O), and you proceed to fill one of the 
tumblers with whichever beverage is called for. 

When you have filled half of the tumblers with wine and 

half with water {H2O), you pour them back into the pitcher 

227 


228 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


and all will instantly change into wine, which you prove 
by filling up the tumblers. This done, you pour the wine 
back into the pitcher, and it is changed instantly into water 
W), as at the beginning, and you demonstrate the fact 
by filling up the glasses with it. 



Fig. 154. —How Wine and Water are Poured from the Same Pitcher. 

The Cause. It takes not the slightest skill to perform 
the trick. All you have to do is to dissolve i tablespoonful 
of tannic acid (CuH'ioOg), which is a brownish powder made 
of nut-galls, in a pitcher of clean warm water {H2O)] now 
put }4 teaspoonful of oxalic acid (^^^2^204), which comes 
in needle-shaped white crystals, into one of the tumblers 
and pour on just enough hot water (H2O) to dissolve them; 
finally, put 3 or 4 drops of tincture of ironf which is ferric 

1 You can get all these chemicals at a drug store. 




































THE WHITE MAGIC OF CHEMISTRY 


229 


perchloride (FeCk) dissolved in alcohol {CE^O), into each 
of the other three tumblers. The two remaining tumblers 
have nothing in them. 

You are now ready to do the trick and to ask the audience 
to say whether they want wine or water {H2O). If wine 
is called for, you fill up one of the tumblers that has tincture 
of iron in it; if water {H^O) is named, fill up one of the tum¬ 
blers that has nothing in it; but in any event always fill the 
tumbler that has the oxalic acid {H2C20^ in it. 

The instant the water {H2O) from the pitcher comes in 
contact with the tincture of iron it will turn the color of 
wine. When you pour back into the pitcher the contents 
of the three tumblers it will color the water {H2O) you 
have poured in from the other two tumblers, and you can 
then pour out all wine. 

To change this back into water {H2O), pour the oxalic 
acid {H2C20^ solution in the last tumbler into the pitcher 
first and then pour in the wine; the instant the iron of the 
latter comes in contact wdth the acid, a reaction takes place 
which precipitates the iron, and so leaves the water {H2O) 
as clear at the end as it was at the beginning. The arrange¬ 
ment is clearly shown in Fig. 154. 

Changing Water into Ink, and Vice Versa.— The Effect. 
You show a decanter half full of water (ZZ^20),as shown in 
Fig. 155, and one half full of ink, then cover each of them 
with a borrowed handkerchief and give them to two spec¬ 
tators who are some little- distance apart, to hold. Now 
with a few magic passes you command the water {E2O) to 
change into ink and the ink to change into water {E2O), 
and when you pull the handkerchiefs from the decanters 


230 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


the audience will see that these transformations have truly 
taken place. 

The Cause. This is a modification of the Wine and Water 
Trick described above, but instead of using the chemicals 



Fig. 155. —Changing Water into Ink. 

in a loose state you use themfin tablet form, and these you 
can buy of dealers in magical apparatus and supplies. To 
change the ink in the decanter into water (£^20), you need 
only to drop in an acid tablety and to change the water {H2O) 

































THE WHITE MAGIC OF CHEMISTRY 


231 


to ink in the other decanter you simply drop an iron tablet, 
or ink tablet, as it is called, into it. To prevent the tablet 
from being seen by the audience, you clip it between your 
index and middle fingers, as shown in Fig. 156, and as you 
hold the decanter by its neck you drop the tablet in just as 
you throw the handkerchief over it with your other hand. 

The Blushing Bride.— The Effect. For this trick you 
draw a picture of a beautiful girl — or if you canT draw 



Fig. 156.—How the Ink Tablet is Held. 


a beautiful girl, get an artist friend to do one for you — 
and this you show to the audience. Then lay it on the 
table and rub it gently with your finger-tip, and when you 
show it again, the girl will be seen to be blushing like a sweet 
graduate of 17, or thereabouts. In a moment or two she 
will recover and the blush will disappear. 

The Cause. Before you show the picture, paint either 
the cheeks or the whole picture with a solution made by 
mixing i tablespoonful of methyl alcohol {CH^P) or wood 
alcohol, as it is called, in a like amount of water {H^O) and 
add just enough phenolphthalein to color it. 

The color will not show on the picture until the latter is 



232 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


brought into contact with the fumes of ammonia (NHs). 
To do this, you dampen a sheet of blotting paper with liquid 
ammonia {NHz)^ and it is on this that you lay the picture 
under the pretext of rubbing it. 

The Magical Atomizer. — The Effect. You show half 
a dozen white feathers to your audience and then stick them 
into a frame or holder, as in Fig. 157. This done, you go 
among the spectators and spray them with eau de Cologne 



Fig. 157.—The Feathers in Their Support. Fig. 158.—Spraying a Feather. 

from an ordinary atomizer, just to prove that you really 
have perfume in it. You can ask them now to call out the 
colors they want you to make the feathers. One will say 
red, another blue, a third green, and so on, and as each color 
is named, you spray a feather with the atomizer, as shown 
in Fig. 158, and it instantly turns the color that has been 
called for. 

The Cause. Before beginning the trick fill the atomizer 
with methyl alcohol (CH4O) and put just enough eau de 
Cologne in it to kill the odor of the latter and to make it 
smell like real perfume. The next thing to do is to dust 











THE WHITE MAGIC OF CHEMISTRY 


233 


each feather with a different-colored aniline dye, or diamond 
dye, which you can get at the drug store. Shake the feath¬ 
ers after you dust them with the dyes, and the particles 
left on them cannot be seen. Now the instant the alcohol 
strikes the dye on the feather it dissolves it, and 
the feather becomes beautifully colored. 

The Rainbow Liquid. — The Effect. This trick is called 
the rainbow liquid, for the very simple reason that from the 
way it acts it is clear you must have broken off the end of 
the rainbow in it. First you show a tumbler perfectly 
empty, of course, and then you fill it with water from 

another tumbler. As soon as you pour the water (H2O) 
from the second tumbler into the first one, it turns green, 
not necessarily from envy, then it changes slowly to blue, 
this is transformed into violet, next it takes on a purple 
color, and finally it settles down to red. The transfor¬ 
mation of one color into another without the glass being 
touched in any way is very mystifying. 

The Cause. To do this trick, powder i tablespoonful 
of manganese dioxide {MnO^^ and 3 tablespoonfuls of 
potassium nitrate {KNO^ in your mortar, and then put 
them into a sand crucible. Bring this mixture to a red 
heat in a stove without covering the crucible, and potas¬ 
sium oxide will be formed.^ 

When the compound is cold, put a few grains of it secretly 
into a tumbler, and then you are ready to do the trick. It 
is a good plan to experiment with different proportions 
of the potassium nitrate (K AO3) and the manganese diox¬ 
ide {MnO^, and also to try warm water {H2O) instead of cold. 

1 This you can buy already prepared. 


234 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


Breathing a Picture on Glass. — The Effect. You show 
a perfectly clean sheet of glass, say 4 by 5 inches on the 
sides, to your audience and let the members examine it as 
closely as they wish. Now breathe on it, and a well-defined 
picture wiU appear on the surface, as shown in Fig. 159. 
In a moment the picture will disappear even more mysteri¬ 
ously than it came. 



Fig. 159. —Breathing a Picture on Glass. 


The Cause. This trick is simply an experiment with 
etched glass. To do it, get a sheet of glass that is perfectly 
clear and with a new steel pen draw a picture on it with 
hydrofluoric acid (HF), see Chapter VII. Let the acid 
remain on the glass for 8 or 10 minutes and then wash it off 
and dry the surface with clean cloth. The picture will be 
invisible even when the glass is examined closely, but it 
will be made visible the moment you breathe on it. 













THE WHITE MAGIC OF CHEMISTRY 


235 


To get the right depth to the etching for it to be in¬ 
visible when the glass is dry and yet stand out clearly when 
you breathe on it, you should make half a dozen of them 
and let the acid remain on each one a different length of 
time. 

Note: — Be very careful not to get any of the acid on your 
fingers^ 



Fig. i6o. —Passing Smoke Invisibly into the Glass Tumblers. 


Passing Smoke Invisibly into a Tumbler. — The Effect. 
You show two empty glass tumblers to the audience, then 
place them mouth to mouth, throw a borrowed handker¬ 
chief over them and set them on a table or, better, let an 
‘ assistant hold them. This done, you fold up a strip of 
paper and light it, and as the smoke rolls up and away from 
it you fan it toward the tumblers, as shown in Fig. i6o, and 
explain as plausibly as possible how the atoms of smoke are 
wafted across the intervening space and on coming in con¬ 
tact with the tumblers pass through the pores of the glass 























236 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


and so find their way inside. To prove it, you remove the 
handkerchief, and the tumblers will be seen to be full of 
smoke, and on taking the top one ofi, the smoke will rise in 
a cloud, as shown in Fig. i6i. 



Fig. i6i. —Showing the Smoke in the Tumblers. 


The Cause. To do this simple but astounding trick, put 
a few drops of hydrochloric acid (H Cl) into one of the tum¬ 
blers and turn it rapidly round and round so that the acid 
will cover as much surface as possible. Now put a few 
drops of concentrated liquid ammonia (NH^) in the other 
tumbler and turn it rapidly round. 

In this way the acid and the ammonia will dry on the 
surfaces of their respective tumblers and you can show them 
































THE WHITE MAGIC OF CHEMISTRY 


237 


as being perfectly empty. Now when you put the tumblers 
together, the fumes of the acid and the ammonia will come 
together, and form ammonium chloride {NH^Cl)y which 
has the appearance of real smoke. 

Elixir Vitae, or the Artificial Production of Life.— The 
Effect. You show a few grains of coarse sand and drop 
them into a soup-plate filled with water {H2O). Instantly 
they will become to all intents alive, and will move and 
whirl about like some water insects, as shown in Fig. 162. 
Now touch the surface of the water {H2O) with the end of 


(C.oHifcO) 



Fig. 162. —Elixir Vitae, or the Artificial Production of Life. 


your wand, a lead pencil, or your finger, and they will lose 
their lifelike qualities and become as motionless as the bits 
of inert matter they were at first. 

The Cause. The secret of this trick lies in the fact that 
the so-called grains of sand are really particles of camphor 
{CiqHkP), and when this comes in contact with the water 
{H2O) a reaction takes place in which hydrogen {H) is set 
free, and this makes the camphor {CiqHkP) move about 
in a lively manner. The end of your wand, the pencil, 
or your finger, has a little grease on it, and when this comes 
in contact with the water {H2O) it prevents it from acting 
on the camphor (Cio ZZ’ieO), and hence it gives up its false life. 













238 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


How to Make Secret Writing Inks. Secret writing inks, 
or sympathetic inks, as they are generally called, are invisi¬ 
ble when they are dry but become visible when they are 
acted on by light, heat, and various forms of electromag¬ 
netic disturbances. 

A Heat Sympathetic Ink. Dissolve a very little cobaltous 
oxide (CoO) in hydrochloric acid (HCl), and deep red 
crystals of cobaltous chloride {CoCh) will be formed, or 
you can buy the latter compound already prepared, which 
is somewhat easier. Now dissolve these crystals in a little 
water (H2O) and write with the solution just as you would 
with ordinary ink, but use a pink-colored paper. The 
cobaltous chloride (CoCk) ink will become invisible as soon 
as it dries, but to read what you have written it is only 
necessary, to warm the paper, and the ink will take on a 
blue color; as soon as it is cold it will take on a pink color. 

How the Ink Works. The crystals of cobaltous chloride 
{C0CI2) have a great attraction for water {H2O). Now 
when the ink made of them dries on the paper, minute crys¬ 
tals of the compound are formed and these attract the water 
vapor in the air, which turns them a slightly pinkish tint, 
and they are practically colorless on the background of 
pink paper. But when they are heated, the water of crys¬ 
tallization is driven out of them and they then turn blue, 
and so stand out in relief on the pink paper. 

A Light Sympathetic Ink. Dissolve a small crystal of 
silver nitrate {AgN'Os), or lunar caustic, as it used to be 
called, in a test tube half full of water {H2O) and write 
with it on a sheet of white paper, using a sharp toothpick 
for a pen. When the ink is dry, the writing will be invisi- 


THE WHITE MAGIC OF CHEMISTRY 


239 


ble, and remain so as long as the paper is kept folded up 
and away from the light. But as soon as it is opened and 
exposed to the light of the sun, the writing will become 
visible, taking on a brown color at first, and then turning 
to a jet black. 

How the Ink Works. When the light-waves of the sun 
fall on the paper, they partly decompose the silver nitrate 
(^giVOs) and set free the nitrogen (N) and the oxygen ( 0 ) 
and leave a brown powder behind, which is nearly pure 
silver (Ag). When enough light-waves fall on it entirely 
to decompose the silver nitrate {AgNO^j then a black 
powder is left, which is pure silver (Ag). 

A Fluorescent Secret Ink. Dissolve some quinine sul¬ 
phate {C2QH2AN2O2), the kind you take for colds, in a little 
water (H2O) and use this as an ink to write with. Wlien 
it is dry it cannot be seen, but if you will hold it up close to 
the sparks of an induction coil, the writing will appear to 
be of a blue-violet color. 

How the Ink Works. When the light-waves strike cer¬ 
tain substances, they are absorbed by the latter, followed 
by the emission of light-waves of a different and greater 
length, and this phenomenon is called fluorescence. The 
short, invisible ultra-violet waves that are set up by the 
sparks of an induction coil are absorbed by the quinine 
sulphate (C2o-^?^24^202), which then sends out longer waves 
and these produce wave-lengths that make violet light 
which can be seen. 

How to Make Spirit Pictures. — The Effect. You show 
a dozen pieces of perfectly blank paper, about i by 2 inches 
on the sides, and after they have been examined you ask a 


240 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


lady (an unmarried one of course) to select one of them, in 
order that you may show her her future husband. When 
she has selected one, you dip the blank paper into a saucer 
of water {H2O) and while it is still wet you place it on her 
forehead. On removing it, there will be seen a photograph 
of a handsome young man with lots of money, a wonderful 
career before him, and all that. 

The Cause. First of all, you make a dozen small prints 
from an ordinary photographic negative of a handsome 
young man, etc., etc., or better, make each print from a 
different negative. The prints must be made on what 
photographers call silver paper^ such as was universally 
used 25 years ago but which is now employed chiefly by 
commercial artists for - enlargements. The present-day 
solio paper will not do, and the silver paper must not be of 
the kind called self-toning, either. 

After having made the prints, fix them without toning in 
a lo-per-cent solution of sodium thiosulphate {Na2S20f), 
and then wash them thoroughly. This done, immerse 
them in a 5-per-cent solution of mercuric chloride {HgClf), 
commonly called corrosive sublimate, and the picture will 
quickly fade out and the paper will appear to be perfectly 
blank. Finally, wash the prints again and let them dry, 
and you are ready to make the spirit photographs or, rather, 
make the spirits make the photographs for you. 

Just before you are going to do the trick, make a S-per¬ 
cent solution of sodium thiosulphate {Na2S20f), and this 
will look just hke ordinary water {H2O). Now when you 
dip the apparently blank paper into the solution, it only 
takes a moment for the reaction to make the picture re- 


THE WHITE MAGIC OF CHEMISTRY 


241 


appear, and to prevent the lady from seeing this process 
you hold it on her forehead. A very pretty trick. 

The Materialization of Hysteria. — The Effect. In the 
language of the spiritualist, the word materialize means to 
bring forth a spirit in bodily form so that it can be seen. 
Because spirits are made of stuff as intangible as dreams, 
they can be seen only when they are luminous and, hence, 
only in the dark, and so for this extraordinary test in psycho¬ 
physical phenomena you must have a perfectly dark room. 

When you are ready to materialize Hysteria, have your 
audience seated in one end of the room, then turn out the 
lights and your dark seance is on. First, the spectators will 
see an uncertain ghostly light, like a will-o-the-wisp, close 
to the floor and near the other end of the room. And then 
this strange light, certainly not of this earth but mayhap 
of heaven above, begins to expand and at the same time to 
take on a more definite shape until it can be clearly seen to 
be that of the form of a girl. When she has been fully 
evolved, her face, beautiful beyond words, materializes 
from out of the ambient astral light, and grows so brightly 
radiant that her very features can be recognized. 

She is none other then Hysteria, the beautiful spirit- 
bride, who has come back to the earth-plane and her mis¬ 
sion is to put to shame the scoffers who disclaim a life here¬ 
after. See! she rises from the floor and floats in the air 
as lightly as a bubble. Returning, she grows smaller and 
smaller and beautifully less until she can just be seen as a 
vaporish patch of light, and then she dematerializes before 
the very eyes of the spectators. 

The Cause. It almost saddens me to tell you how Hys- 


242 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


teria is materialized but since this is a book of living as well 
as of dead secrets I will give you the explanation. First 
of all, you need several props, as they are called in the show 
business, two rooms that can be made perfectly dark, and 
an assistant. To make the former, get some soft iron wire 
of about No. lo or 12 gauge and fashion it into the outline 
of a girl, as shown in Fig. 163. 

Next, fasten a false face of a pretty 
girl to the top of it, and then paint 
this with luminous paint mixed with a 
little thin varnish. Luminous paint is 
made chiefly of phosphorus (P), so- 
called from two Greek words which 
mean light and I hear, and this element 
unites with the oxygen (0) of the air 
very slowly, and in so doing light is 
produced with practically no evolution 
of heat. You can buy from dealers 
in magical supplies luminous painty,^ 
ready to use, with the proper varnish 
to thin it down. 

Having prepared the face, take about 4. yards of cheese¬ 
cloth, tack it to a wall or other flat surface and then paint 
it over lightly with the rest of the luminous paint, which 
you have thinned down with a quart of the varnish. When 
the paint is quite dry, make a simple one-piece gown of 
the cloth, like a night-dress, only open in the back and with 
half a dozen buttons on it. 

Now lay the false face and the dress in the sunlight for 
a day or so a nd you will find on taking them into the dark 




























THE WHITE MAGIC OF CHEMISTRY 


243 


that they shine with a ghostly radiance. This phenomenon 
is called phosphorescence^ and it is caused by the luminous 
paint absorbing the light-waves and sending them out after 
the sunlight has stopped acting on it. 

Next, cut out a square piece of black velvet, or canton 
flannel, and sew this to the top of the false face so that it 
will fall over the front or the back of it as you wish. Fi¬ 
nally, make a black bag about i foot square and you have 
all the props for the materialization of Hysteria. 

You must now look after your assistant and yourself. 
He must be dressed in a black canton flannel suit made 
like a baby^s pajamas with feet in them and with a hood 
to match that completely covers his head, but having a 
couple of very small holes in it so that he can see out. He 
must also wear a pair of black gloves, and with this outfit 
on he will be quite invisible in the dark room. On the 
other hand, you must be dressed in either a white linen or 
a white flannel suit, so that you will always be visible in 
the aforesaid dark room. 

Now just before you are ready to call this beautiful spirit 
from the vasty deep, fold the luminous cheese-cloth up 
neatly and put it into the bag, then leave it and the frame 
with the canton-flannel flap over the face in the outer dark 
room. As soon as the spectators are seated, turn out all 
the lights, and have your assistant bring in the wire frame 
and stand it silently against the wall. He then takes the 
luminous dress from the bag, and the audience will see it 
as a hazy patch of light. 

As he unfolds it, the light gets brighter and larger, and 
as he buttons it on* the wire frame it takes on the shape of 


244 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


the female form, but it is headless. Slowly he draws the 
piece of flannel up and exposes the face, and Mysteria, as 
truly a spirit of the other world as ever was materialized, 
appears in all her wondrous beauty and effulgent glory, as 
in Fig. 164. 



Fig. 164.—The Spirit of Mysteria. 


But we are becoming spectrally sentimental again, and 
this will not do, for we must get back to the hard things of 
this earth. Your assistant grips the spirit near the place 
where her feet ought to be and holds her up; then he swings 
her, pendulum like, from one side to the other and finally 
lets her come to rest in a recumbent position with her front 
side to the audience, of course, and there she gracefully 























THE WHITE MAGIC OF CHEMISTRY 


245 


rests until you command her to dematerialize and return to 
the place whence she came. 

To perform this extraordinary feat, your assistant pro¬ 
ceeds to take off her dress which he pins to the wall and 
leaves it there until he has taken the frame into the next 
room. Returning, he grips the dress and waves it in the 
air so that the audience sees the phosphorescent light high 
and low and everywhere at the same time. Finally, he 
gradually rolls the dress up and puts it under his arm when 
he makes his exit into the outer room. Then you turn on 
the lights and you will find the spectators nearly as pale 
but not half so beautiful as Hysteria herself. And thus 
chemistry, with a little physics thrown in, makes a spirit 
of a few poor “props.’’ 


CHAPTER XIV. 


SAFE AND SANE FIREWORKS 

Every year on the fifth of November the British cele¬ 
brate Guy Fawkes Day with bonfires and fireworks just as 
we celebrate the Fourth of July, Independence Day, but, it 
is needless to say, for a wholly different reason. Guy 
Fawkes lived from 1570 to 1606, and he was the chief con¬ 
spirator of the famous Gunpowder Plot, as it is called. This 
plot, which has ever since lived in history, was an idea that 
originated in the brain of one Catesby to blow up the Par¬ 
liament House and in this way destroy King Charles I. 
On the fourth of November, which was the day set for the 
explosion to take place, Thomas Knyvett, a Westminster 
magistrate, discovered the plot and Fawkes was arrested. 
He was tried, together with his co-conspirators, the follow¬ 
ing January, and as he had no defense he was found guilty, 
and executed. 

So the fifth of November is known in England as Guy 
Fawkes Day, and it is quite likely that our idea of cele¬ 
brating Independence Day on the Fourth of July with bon¬ 
fires and fireworks was taken from the old English custom 
that had its origin in the Gunpowder Plot. Be that as it 
may, you can do the following curious experiments with 
fire, flame, and smoke without danger if you stick to the 
directions, use no more of the ingredients than the formulas 
call for, and make them out of doors. 

246 


SAFE AND SANE FIREWORKS 


247 


How to Make Fire Without a Match. Put 3 drops of 
glycerine and no more^ in a pie-plate and 

then put I teaspoonful of crystals of potassium perman¬ 
ganate {KMnO^ on top of it. In a short time the sub¬ 
stances will react on each other, and then smoke will be 
evolved. If you have used the right amount of potassium 
permanganate {KMnO^j the substances will begin to burn 
with a purple flame, v 



Fig. 165.—Writing with Fire Ink. 


Writing With Fire Ink. This experiment should be made 
in a dark room, and is one that is quite out of the ordinary. 
Put a teaspoonful of water {H2O) in a test tube, add 
teaspoonful of potassium nitrate (KNO^) and heat it over 
the flame of your alcohol lamp until the salt is dissolved. 
Now take a toothpick and write with the solution on a 
sheet of ordinary soft, porous paper, and make the lines 
heavy, with no break in the continuity of them. 

When the paper is perfectly dry, take it in a dark room, 
then light a match and when it is burning well blow it out, 
so that only a kindling spark remains; touch the left-hand 
end of the writing with the match and the potassium nitrate 



248 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


(KNOz) will ignite and burn along like a fuse until the 
other end is reached, while the rest of the paper will not be 
burnt, as shown in Fig. 165. 

Rapid Oxidation of Zinc. Here is another way to make 
a fire without a match, and this is by the rapid oxidation 
of zinc (Zn). Mix teaspoonful of ammonium chloride 
(N'HiCl) and 5 teaspoonfuls of ammonium nitrate 
MO3) on a pie-plate and then spread out the mixture in a 
thin layer. On top of this sprinkle i tablespoonful of pow¬ 
dered zinc {Zn) and then let a single drop of water {H2O) 
fall in the center of it. The mixture will soon begin to 
burn, and the oxidation takes place so fast that the zinc 
{Zn) is ignited. It is the ammonium nitrate {N 
that supplies the oxygen (0) for the combustion of the zinc 
{Zn). 

How to Make a Safe Fuse. Put a little water {H2O) in 
a beaker and add as much potassium nitrate (K NO^ to it 
as it will dissolve. This done, soak a soft, thick string in 
this solution for 10 or 15 minutes, and the salt will fill the 
pores of it. Now when you light one end of the string, it 
will burn slowly and steadily along until the other end is 
reached. All you need to do to make a time fuse is to use 
the right length of string, and this you can determine by 
making a trial or two. 

How to Make a Flash-Light. Put 34 teaspoonful of 
powdered magnesium (Mg) — no more — into the bowl 
of a tablespoon and hold it over the flame of your alcohol 
lamp, at the same time turning your face away from it; 
suddenly there will be a bright flash of light and in the 
spoon you will find a greyish powder. This substance is 



SAFE AND SANE FIREWORKS 


249 


magnesium oxide (AfgO), and it is the result of the reac¬ 
tion that takes place when the magnesium (Afg) combines 
with the oxygen ( 0 ) of the air. The experiment shows in 
a brilliant way the direct combination of these two elements. 

How to Make Explosive Matches. For this experiment 
you need a few ordinary parlor matches and some sodium 
silicate {Na 2 Si 20 ^, or water-glass as it is called. To make 
the latter put i tablespoonful each of silicon dioxide {Si 0 ‘^ 
or silica, as it is called, and sodium hydroxide {NaOH), 
that is, caustic soda, in a beaker and pour on enough boil¬ 
ing water ( H2O) to dissolve them; when this is done, sodium 
silicate {Na2Si20^, or water-glass is formed thus: 

Si 02 + NaOH = Na 2 Si 20 , + H2O 
Silicon Sodium Sodium silicate Water 

dioxide hydroxide or water-glass 

To make the matches explosive, dip their heads in the 
water-glass {Na2Si20^), let them dry, and then dip them 
into melted paraffin. Now when a friend asks you for a 
match, hand him one of these and on striking it it will pop 
and sputter like a string of Liliputian firecrackers. 

How to Make Rainbow Lights. Here are two very pretty 
experiments, but you must do them outdoors. Put 
teaspoonful each of strontium nitrate {Sr{^NO^^, pow¬ 
dered charcoal (C), powdered iron (Fe), powdered magne¬ 
sium {Mg), and sulphur {S), together with i teaspoonful 
of potassium nitrate (ATWOs) in a tin pan and mix them 
together, but do not rub or grind them. Now set the pan on 
a brick where the sparks can fly about and not do any harm. 
Put one end of a fuse a foot long in the mixture and light 
the free end of it; when the burning fuse ignites the different 


250 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


substances they will burn with varicolored lights and 
throw out brilliant scintillating sparks. The colored lights 
are produced by the burning metals, while the sparks are 
set up by the oxygen (0) liberated from the potassium 
nitrate {KNO^)y which oxidizes the different metals. 



STRAW 


(Sr(N03)2) 


(KNO3) 


Fig. 166.—Making Rainbow Lights. 


Get a paper straw, such as you use when imbibing soda- 
water, fold over one end, fill it two-thirds full of the mixture 
used in the foregoing experiment, and then set it in a test 
tube, as shown in Fig. 166. Now light the upper and free 
end of the straw, and when this mixture is ignited by it you 
will have a very pretty rainbow-color effect. 

How to Make Fourth of July Sparklers. Make a mix¬ 
ture of I teaspoonful of potassium nitrate {KNO^) and 2 
teaspoonfuls of powdered magnesium (Mg) on a sheet of 














SAFE AND SANE FIREWORKS 


251 


paper and stir them together, but do not ruh or grind them. 
Now coat half a dozen pieces of iron wire each about 6 
inches long, with melted paraffin and then roll them in turn 
in the mixture until they are coated all over with it. When 



Fig. 167.—A Fourth of July Sparkler. 

they are cold, light the end of one of them with a match and 
as the magnesium {Mg) burns it will throw out bright scin¬ 
tillating sparks, as shown in Fig. 167. 

How to Make a White Flash-Light. Put teaspoonful 



252 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


each of potassium nitrate {KNO^ and powdered magne¬ 
sium {Mg) into an iron frying-pan and mix, but do not ruh 
or grind them. This done, sprinkle 3^ teaspoonful of pow¬ 
dered sulphur (5) on the mixture and then light the sulphur 
( 5 ) with a match fastened to a wire, as shown in Fig. i68. 
The burning sulphur ( 5 ) will soon ignite the potassium 
nitrate {KNO^ and magnesium (Ffg). They will then 
suddenly combine with a bright, dazzling, white flash. 



Fig. 16 8 . —Lighting a Flash-Light. 


How to Make a Red Flash-Light. To make a red flash¬ 
light use 3^ teaspoonful of strontium nitrate {Sr{NO^'^ 
and a like amount of potassium nitrate {KNOz). Mix 
them in an iron pan, taking the precautions explained in 
the foregoing experiment, and light the mixture. A bright, 
dazzling red light will be produced. 

How to Make a Green Flash-Light. Mix Yi teaspoonful 
each of potassium nitrate {KNO^, boric acid {H^BO^y 
or horacic acidy as it is commonly called, and powdered sul¬ 
phur {S) and I teaspoonful of powdered magnesium (Mg) 
in an iron pan, taking the precautions explained for making 









SAFE AND SANE FIREWORKS 


253 


a white flash-light, and fire the mixture with a fuse (see 
‘‘How to Make a Fuse’O and it will burn with a brilliant 
green flash. 

How to Make Flash Paper. Magicians use this kind of 
paper and when they ignite it, it vanishes in a flash of light, 
hence, it is called/to/j paper. You can buy it for 25 cents 
a sheet of dealers in magical supplies, or you can make it as 
follows: Pour i}/2 fluid ounces of sulphuric acid {H2SO^ 
and 23^ fluid ounces of nitric acid {HNO^ into a beaker 
(you can measure them in a graduated glass) and stir them 
with a glass rod. This done, pour the solution into a 4.-by- 
5-inch glass photographic developing-tray, and then im¬ 
merse in it several sheets of thin print paper (that is, paper 
which is unsized and porous). 

Let the sheets of paper remain in the solution for 10 min¬ 
utes, then pour off the latter and wash the paper under a 
stream of running water {H2O) for an hour, so that every 
molecule of the acids will be removed. Unless the sheets 
are washed thoroughly they are apt to catch fire spontane¬ 
ously, and if struck with a hammer they will explode, for 
what you have really done is to convert the paper, which 
is practically pure cellulose {CqHioOb) into nitro-cellulose 

and this is the gentle substance that 
goes by the ordinary name of guncotton. 

After washing the sheets, drain them off and hang them 
on a string stretched across the room to dry. Now if you 
will hold a sheet by a corner with your fingers and touch 
the opposite diagonal corner to the flame of a candle it will 
disappear in a flash of light, and because the combustion is 
so perfect it will leave an imperceptible amount of ash behind. 


254 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


How to Make Colored Flash Paper. To make colored 
flash paper you need only to dip the sheets after you have 
put them through the acid bath, and washed and dried 
them, in a saturated solution of the following compounds. 
Half fill a glass photographic tray with warm water (S’20), 
and put in as much lithium chloride (LiCl) as it will dissolve. 
You will then have what is called a saturated solution; this 
will give the paper a red flash. Use a saturated solution of 
copper chloride (CuCh) for making blue flash paper. Use 
barium chlorate (BaCh) for green flash paper, and potas¬ 
sium nitrate ( K NO^) for violet flash paper. 

How to Make Flash Handkerchiefs. To make a hand¬ 
kerchief disappear in a flash of fire, magicians use what 
they call a flash handkerchief. This is made in exactly the 
same way as flash paper, except that you use a handker¬ 
chief of cheese-cloth. When the latter is treated with the 
acid solution, it becomes a very pure form of guncotton, 
for cotton is a purer form of cellulose (CeHioOs) than paper. 
As it is explosive when ignited in a confined space, do not 
roll it up or enclose it when you touch it off. 

How to Light a Paper Without a Flame. An experiment 
that is a favorite with professional fire-eaters is to light a 
piece of paper by simply breathing on it. Now I submit 
that the breath of even a fire-eater is not nearly hot enough 
to raise the kindling temperature of a piece of paper to a 
point where it will catch fire. So there must be some trick 
in it, and here it is. 

Get a glass tube that has a bore of about 1^2 inch and 
an outside diameter of 14 inch and cut it into 2-inch 
lengths. Seal one end of each of the tubes, as shown at 


SAFE AND SANE FIREWORKS 


255 


A in Fig. 169, then fill them with sulphuric acid (^2^04) 
and seal the other end, as at B; now mix i teaspoonful each 
of sugar (Ci2-S'220ii) and potassium chlorate {KCIO^ and 
put as much of this quick-match^ as it is called, as you can 
get on the head of a lead pencil on a sheet of tissue paper, 
as at C, and then wrap the mixture and an acid tube up 
in it tight. 



A B 




Fig. 169.—Lighting a Paper without a Match. 


Now wrap this up in a sheet of ordinary paper, or one of 
flash paper, and when you want to ignite it with your breath 
you not only breathe on it (which hasn’t anything to do 
wdth the case) but you squeeze the paper and break the 
tube. The acid in it will then come in contact with the 
quick-match mixture and they will instantly blaze forth 
and set the paper on fire. You can buy these acid tubes 
all ready to use of dealers in magical supplies for a very low 
price. 






















256 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


How to Light a Paper With a Piece of Ice. Fix a piece of 
metal potassium (iT) about one-fourth the size of a pea to one 
corner of a perfectly dry sheet of paper by gluing a bit of 
paper over it, but let a corner of the metal stick out, and 
it cannot then be seen. When you are ready to fire the 
paper, press a piece of ice to the projecting corner of the 
potassium (K). The instant the water {H2O) of the melt¬ 
ing ice touches the metal, hydrogen {H) is set free and the 
heat of the reaction makes it catch fire. The paper will be 
ignited in turn. 

The Great Fire-Eating Trick. When you have learned 
this great secret you can blow out a stream of bright sparks 
from your mouth ^To the horror of all beholders,’^ or at 
least this is what the magical catalogues say. Here is the 
great secret. Put 2 tablespoonfuls of water (H2O) in a 
beaker and stir in as much potassium nitrate {KNO3) as 
it will dissolve. 

Soak a piece of thick, soft cord, about a foot long, in it 
over-night, then dry it thoroughly and cut it up into pieces 
about I inch long. Now light one of these pieces and roll 
it up loosely in a little ball of cotton about i inch in diam¬ 
eter; put this in your mouth and then blow until a shower 
of sparks issues forth, as shown in Fig. 170. You can 
heighten the effect by pretending to eat a tuft of cotton 
every time you blow out sparks. When you inhale, always 
do so through your nose, and when you exhale, always be 
sure to do so through your mouth, in which case the experi¬ 
ment will succeed beautifully. 

How to Make Colored Fire.—Red Fire. Put I tea¬ 
spoonful of strontium nitrate ( 5 'r( 7^03)2) and powdered sul- 


SAFE AND SANE FIREWORKS 


257 


phur ( 5 ), and 2 teaspoonfuls each of potassium nitrate 
(KNOz) and powdered charcoal (C) in a soup-plate, or a 
pan, and mix them together with a stick, but do not rub or 
grind them. Make a little pile of the mixture in the center 
of the dish and light it with a fuse, and it will burn with a 
brilliant red light. It is the strontium nitrate (^/'(WOs) 2) 
that gives the light its bright red color, while the sulphur 
{S) and charcoal (C) provide the material which burns, and 



Fig. 170.—The Great Fire-Eating Trick. 


the potassium nitrate {KNO^ supplies the necessary oxy¬ 
gen (0) for them to burn in. 

Green Fire. Put I teaspoonful of powdered sulphur {S) 
and 2 teaspoonfuls each of potassium nitrate {KNO^, 
powdered charcoal (C), and powdered zinc {Zn) in the dish, 
and mix and light them with a fuse, as in the last experiment. 
The mixture will then burn with a bright green color. 

Yellow Fire. Put i teaspoonful each of sodium chloride 
( NaCl), which is common table salt, and powdered sulphur 


258 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


( 5 ) and 2 tablespoonfuls of potassium nitrate (KNO^) and 
powdered charcoal (C) in a dish, or pan; mix and fire with 
a fuse as in the preceding experiment, and the mixture will 
burn with a bright yellow color. 

Bengal Lights. Put i tablespoonful of potassium nitrate 
(KNOs) I teaspoonful of powdered sulphur ( 5 ), and 3^ tea¬ 
spoonful of antimony trisulphide {Sb2S^) in a dish, or pan, 
and mix and ignite them with a fuse, as in the foregoing ex¬ 
periments. This mixture will then burn with a bright 
white light. If you will add ]/2 teaspoonful of powdered 
magnesium (ikfg) to the above mixture, the light will be 
exceedingly brilliant. 

How to Make Phosphine Smoke Rings. And I might 
add, a horrible odor at the same time. Put enough water 
(H2O) in a glass retort to make it one-fourth full,and drop in 
3 or 4 pieces of potassium hydroxide (KOH) or caustic 
potash, as it is commonly called, each of which is about as 
large as the stone of a cherry. Now when they are dis¬ 
solved, drop in 2 bits of white phosphorus (P), each about 
the size of a large pea, add i teaspoonful of ethyl ether^ 
(C4p^io0), which is common ether, and put the glass stopper 
back in the retort. 

This done, set the retort in the ring of your support-stand, 
have the free end of it dip into a glass dish of water {E2O), 
and then set the alcohol lamp under the bowl of the retort, 
as shown in Fig. 171, and you are ready for the experiment. 
All you have to do now is to light the lamp and let the solu¬ 
tion boil gently, and very soon a colorless gas called phos¬ 
phine (PHz), but which used to be called phosphoreted 

1 When 2 molecules of alcohol lose i molecule of water, ether results. 


SAFE AND SANE FIREWORKS 


259 


hydrogen^ and has an odor like that of rotten fish, will be 
given off; as it bubbles up through the water {H^O) and 



Fig. 171.—Making Phosphine Smoke Rings. 


passes into the air, it will catch fire of its own accord and 
form wonderful rings of smoke. 

The purpose of the ether {C^^HkP) is to drive the air 
out of the retort and so prevent the burning of the first 
bubbles of gas that are formed inside of it. The heat must 
be carefully regulated, so that the bubbles will not follow 
each other too quickly, and the air must be perfectly still, 
so that the burning bubbles can form smoke rings. 










































260 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


How to Make Pharaoh’s Serpents. This chemical reac¬ 
tion is a never-ending source of wonder, and it has been sug¬ 
gested that the ancient Egyptian conjurors in the time of 
Moses knew how to produce it or, at least, something very 
like it — hence the name FharaoWs Serpents. The bald 
effect is that the lighting of a pill, or egg, the size of a pea, 
will cause a serpent-like form to wriggle forth from it with 
a length of several feet. This writhes about in a very life¬ 
like manner,as shown in Fig. 172, until the egg is completely 
consumed. 



Fig. 172.—Pharaoh’s Serpent Cometh Forth. 


Put a drop of mercury about the size of a pea in a 
test tube and add 3 or 4. drops of water {H2O) to it,and a 
like amount of strong nitric acid {HNO^. Now hold the 
tube over the flame of your alcohol lamp and let it heat 
gently; very soon the mercury will dissolve. Then 

let the solution boil for minute; this done, add 4 times 
as much water {H2O) as there is of the solution, which now 
contains mercuric nitrate 2,^20). 

Next, dissolve as much potassium thiocyanate (KNCS) 







SAFE AND SANE FIREWORKS 


261 


as you can get on the head of a lead pencil in teaspoonful 
of water {H2O) and add this to the solution of mercuric 
nitrate ((ZZ’gWOs)2, ^20). When this is done, a dirty grey 
precipitate will be thrown down, but as you keep adding 
more of the potassium thiocyanate {KNCS) to the mer¬ 
curic nitrate((i7gW03)2,^/^20) solution, the precipitate will 
become a creamy white. 

Now filter the solution and save only the precipitate 
which remains behind on the filter paper, then wash it 
by pouring on a little water (H2O), and let it filter through. 
Let the latter drain off, then take the paper out of the fun¬ 
nel, unfold it, lay it on a couple of sheets of blotting paper 
and let it stay there until the precipitate is perfectly dry. 
scrape the latter off into a small dish and put a drop or two 
of mucilage on it so that you can mold it with your fingers 
into little cone-shaped pieces about as large as peas. 

Finally, let them dry thoroughly, and you have the eggs 
of the famous Pharaoh’s serpents. Now light one of them 
with a match, and it will burn with a nearly invisible flame, 
and at the same time form a brown ash of almost incredible 
length which curls up and twists round after the manner 
of a live serpent, whence it gets its name. 

Note. — As potassium thiocyanate (KNCS) is a poison, 
be sure to wash your hands after you have shaped the com¬ 
pound into eggs. Further, as it gives off poisonous gases 
when it burns, do not get close enough to inhale them. 
Either make the experiment out of doors, or in a fireplace. 

Here is a way to make Pharaoh’s serpents which are not 
poisonous, neither are they anywhere nearly so effective 
as the foregoing. Mix, but do not ruh or grinds y teaspoon- 


262 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


fill each of powdered potassium nitrate {KNO^ and sugar 
(Ci2 -5^220 ii) and i teaspoonful of powdered potassium 
dichromate {K2Cr0i). Now add just enough mucilage 
to make a paste of the mixture and then shape them into 
little cones. When you light these, or the kind described 
above, always do so at the top of the cone. 


CHAPTER XV 


USEFUL HOUSEHOLD RECIPES 

In this chapter it is my intention to tell you how to make 
some interesting experiments that have to do with things 
in and around the house, and the family living in it. These 
experiments include the making of soap, water-softeners, 
cleansing compounds, disinfectants, dyes and inks, together 
with a number of miscellaneous recipes. 

How to Make Soaps. In Chapter VIII I told you how 
to make hard and soft soaps simply as experiments in chem¬ 
istry, and here I shall give you some additional easy formu¬ 
las for making other kinds of soap, but also on a very small 
scale. 

Toilet Soap. Put a tablespoonful of olive oil (C^Hs 
(C02CnHsz)sy Into a small porcelain evaporating-dish 
and then pour the same amount of alcohol (CH^O) over it; 
next, put a teaspoonful of sodium hydroxide {NaOH), 
that is,caustic soda, in a test tube and pour a like amount 
of water {H2O) over it. Now put 20 drops of this solution 
in the dish with the other two compounds. 

This done, heat the dish gently until the solution boils 
and all the alcohol {CH^P) has evaporated, which you will 
know when you can no longer smell the odor from it; evapo¬ 
rate the solution slowly until the remaining mass is quite 

1 This is the formula for olein, and olive oil contains 75 per cent of it. 

263 


264 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


dry, and this is, or at least it should be, soap. If it has not 
saponified, that is, changed into soap, put a little more 
alcohol {CHaP) and sodium hydroxide {NaOH) in the 
dish and boil it again. 

Perfumed Soap. Take a piece of good hard soap the 
size of a walnut and melt it in a test tube, or the tin cover 
of a baking-powder can, and while it is in a liquid state add 
a few drops of perfume of any kind to it and stir it in thor¬ 
oughly. When it is cold you can easily detect the odor by 
smelling of it, and it will be very much in evidence when 
you wash with it. 

Colored Soap. Follow the same directions as for making 
the perfumed soap given above, except that you add a 
harmless coloring matter to it while it is in a melted state. 
To give the soap a red color, put 34 teaspoonful of cochineaP 
in a test tube one-fourth full of water {H2O) and boil it 
until the solution is a bright red. Now put enough of this 
into the melted soap to give it the tint you want. Other 
colors can be had by using vegetable dyes of various kinds. 

Floating Soap. Put enough good hard soap into a test 
tube to fill it half full and then melt it. Stick a straw or 
glass tube into the solution and just before it gets hard, 
blow a blast of air through it and stir it at the same time; 
this will fill it with air bubbles, and it will then be lighter 
than water ( H2O) and, consequently, the soap will float. 

Glycerine Soap. Cut up a lump of good soap the size 
of a walnut and put it in a test tube and melt it. Then 
add 34 teaspoonful of glycerine {CzH^{pH)f) and stir them 

1 This is a brilliant scarlet dye stuff made by killing female cochineal in¬ 
sects apd drying them. 


USEFUL HOUSEHOLD RECIPES 


265 


until they are thoroughly mixed. When this is cold you 
will have glycerine soap. 

Sapolio. Cut up a piece of soap the size of a walnut and 
melt it; then add 5 c>r 6 times the amount of very fine sand 
{Si02),^ together with a bit of glue, and mix them thor¬ 
oughly; while the mixture is still hot put it into a little 
mould made of wood, or a tin box will do, lay a piece of 
wood on top of it and set a flat-iron or other weight on that. 
This done, let it dry thoroughly and you will have a cake 
of sapolioj or a close approximation to it. 

Howto Make a Safe Dry-Cleansing Compound. The 
process of cleaning goods with solvents other than water 
{E2O) is called dry cleansing. Gasoline {CtHi^ and ben¬ 
zine (Cs^Tis), which are hydrocarbons obtained from petro¬ 
leum, are very good solvents for oil, grease, tar, and other 
like organic matter, and they are largely used for removing 
them from clothing, but they are dangerous because they 
are easily ignited and explosive. 

You can make a cleansing solution which will not burn, 
by adding i ounce of carbon tetrachloride (CC/4), which is 
a liquid compound made by passing dry chlorine {Cl) into 
carbon disulphide {CS^^, to 5 ounces of benzine (Cs^/’is). 
Or you can use carbon tetrachloride (CC/4) alone, for while 
it is not quite as cheap, it is even safer and it evaporates 
about as quickly. 

How to Take Out Spots and Stains. — A Fresh Grease 

Spot. Lay a piece of blotting paper over the grease spot 
and press on it with a hot flat-iron; the heat will melt the 

iThis is the formula for silicon dioxide, or silica, as it is called, and sand 
is composed chiefly of it. 


266 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


grease and the blotting paper will absorb it. Hence this 
is not a chemical experiment but one that has to do with 
physics. As long as the spot is gone, it really doesn^t matter. 

Old Grease Spots. You can remove an old grease spot 
from clothing by dissolving it out with alcohol {CHiO), 
benzine (Cgi^is), carbon tetrachloride (CC/4), or the solu¬ 
tion described above. In taking out a grease spot, start 
at the edge of it with the cloth saturated with the solvent, 
and then keep on working toward the center of it. 

Paint Spots. The first thing to do is to soften the paint, 
and this can be done by pouring on a little carbon tetra¬ 
chloride (CC/4); after it has soaked for a while, moisten a 
bit of clean muslin with turpentine (CioHie) and rub the 
spot until all traces of the paint have disappeared. 

Ink Spots. To take out an ink spot on woolen clothing, 
rub it lightly with a bleaching solution made by dissolving 
I teaspoonful of calcium hypochlorite {Ca{pCt)<^y that is 
chloride of lime, in 2 tablespoonfuls of water {H2O). This 
will bleach out the black spot and leave a yellow spot, and 
this you can remove by soaking a pellet of cotton in hydro¬ 
gen dioxide {H2O2) and with it gently rubbing the spot, 
which in turn will disappear. 

Where fresh ink is spilled on bright-colored goods, or on 
a carpet, it can generally be removed by repeatedly washing 
the stain with fresh, sweet milk.^ 

To remove ink from paper, dissolve 3 ^ teaspoonful each 
of tartaric acid and calcium hypochlorite (Ca 

1 Milk is an emulsion formed of 8o to go per cent of water in which there 
is dissolved 2 to 6 per cent of casein^ K to 9 per cent of milk-sugar, i to 2 per 
cent of mineral salts, and 2!^ to 6 per cent of fat; and it swarms with bacteria. 


USEFUL HOUSEHOLD RECIPES 


267 


{001)2), in 2 tablespoonfuls of water {H2O). Now take a 
pointed glass rod, or a wood toothpick will do, dip it into 
the solution and rub with it the ink that you want to re¬ 
move, and it will fade away. The tartaric acid {C^H&O^ 
and the calcium hypochlorite {Ca{OCl)<^ react on each 
other and set the chlorine {Cl) free. This with the water 
{H2O) makes hypochlorous acid {HCIO), which, as you 
know, is a bleaching agent. There are some kinds of ink 
that cannot be bleached out with this solution. 

Iron-Rust Stains. Rub the stain with a solution made 
of I teaspoonful of oxalic acid {C2H20^) dissolved in 3 
tablespoonfuls of water {H2O). When the stain has been 
removed, wash out the acid solution with a plentiful supply 
of water {H2O), 

Alkali Spots. Where an alkali, such as sodium hydrox¬ 
ide {NaOH), that is, caustic soda gets on a piece of goods 
you can take it out by rubbing it gently with a piece of 
clean muslin dipped in the oxalic-acid solution, made as 
described above. After the acid has neutralized the alkali, 
causing the spot to disappear, wash it out with plenty of 
water {H2O). 

Mildew Stains. You can remove mildew stains by rub¬ 
bing them gently with a solution made by dissolving l tea¬ 
spoonful of calcium hypochlorite {Ca{OCl)<^ in a test tube 
half full of water {E2O). It will then bleach out the stains; 
after which the goods should be washed in a plentiful supply 
of water {H2O). 


268 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


HOW TO MAKE BLEACHING COMPOUNDS. 

For Cotton and Linen Goods. Hypochlorous acid ( HCIO) 
is the universal bleaching compound for cotton and linen 
goods. You can make it by dissolving a teaspoonful of 
calcium hypochlorite {Ca{OCl)^, which is chloride of lime, 
or bleaching powder, as it is called when used for this pur¬ 
pose, in Yi pint of water {H2O). 

For Wool and Silk. Never try to bleach wool or silk 
with bleaching powder, or any compound that makes hypo- 
chlorous acid (iTC/ 0 ),for this destroys these kinds of goods 
because they contain organic compounds called protein 
{CHOES). To bleach wool and silk, use sulphurous acid 
{H2SO3), which you must not confound with sulphuric 
acid {H2SOi). Sulphurous acid (H2SOZ) is formed by 
dissolving sulphur dioxide {SO2) in water {H2O) thus: 

SO2 + E2O = E2SOZ 

Sulphur dioxide Water Sulphurous acid 

While sulphurous acid (JT25O3) is like sulphuric acid 
( E2S0^ except that it contains one less molecule of oxygen 
( 0 ), it differs from it in that it is a very weak acid. It 
bleaches by virtue of the fact that it combines with various 
coloring substances and makes other compounds, which 
process leaves the goods white. 

For Hair and Wool. For bleaching hair and wool, use 
hydrogen peroxide (F2O2), which, as its formula shows, is 
very like water (^20), except that it has 2 molecules of 
oxygen ( 0 ) where the latter has only i of oxygen ( 0 ). This 
difference is enough to make it heavier than water {E2O), 
give it a syrupy consistency, and it makes hydrogen perox- 


USEFUL HOUSEHOLD RECIPES 


269 


ide {H2O2) a powerful bleaching compound. It is made by 
treating barium dioxide with sulphuric acid {E2SO^, 

How to Make Disinfectants. A disinfectant is a sub¬ 
stance that will kill the germs which cause various diseases. 
Among the better-known disinfectants are chlorine {Cl), 
sulphur {S), hydrogen peroxide (F2O2), formaldehyde 
{CE2O) and phenol {C^EfOE), or carbolic acid, as it is 
popularly called. 

Chloride of lime {Ca{OCl)‘^ is a good disinfectant, and 
you need only to dissolve i ounce of it in i quart of water 
{E2O) to make it. Where there are germs of malignant 
diseases, the rooms can be disinfected by burning sulphur 
( 5 ) in them. The sulphur ( 5 ) combines with the oxygen 
( 0 ) of the air, and this forms sulphur dioxide {SO^. To 
make this gas effective you must seal up the windows and 
doors of the room you want to disinfect by pasting strips of 
paper over the cracks, then put a couple of lumps of sulphur 
(5), about the size of walnuts, in an iron pot and ignite them. 

Hydrogen peroxide {E2O2) is not only a bleaching agent 
but it has the remarkable property of destroying tissues of 
the body that are dead or decaying, while it will not affect 
healthy, living tissues. Another good feature about it is 
that when it reacts on dead and decaying tissue, water 
{E2O) only is left behind, and, hence, there is nothing which 
will irritate or poison the tissues that are living. For this 
reason, it is very much superior to disinfectants of other 
kinds. Use a 3-per-cent solution of hydrogen peroxide 
(H2O2) for disinfecting wounds and sores, and this you can 
get at any drug store. 

While formalin {CE2O+E2O), which is a solution made 


270 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


by dissolving 40 per cent of formaldehyde {CE^O), a gas, 
in 60 per cent of water {H2O), is often used as a preserva¬ 
tive of milk, it is harmful when taken into the system, 
but it is a very good disinfectant. You can get formahn 
{CE20-\-E20) all ready to use at the drug store. 

Finally, phenol {CqE^OE)^ or carbolic acid, to give it 
its common name, is a most excellent disinfectant. It is 
one of the products of coal-tar, and to make a disinfectant 
of it you need only to mix 5 per cent of it with 95 per cent 
of water (^?'20). In use this disinfectant is sprinkled around. 

How to Make and Use Dyes. Dyes are of two general 
kinds: natural colors and artificial colors. The former are 
made of various plant, animal, and mineral matter, while 
the latter are either extracted from coal-tar or else they are 
made synthetically. 

Logwood {red), indigo^ {blue), and tumeric (yellow) are 
some of the plant colors; cochineal (scarlet) is a dye made 
from insects; chrome (green and yellow), iron buff, prussian 
blue, and manganese brown are mineral colors. Aniline 
dyes are made from coal-tar, and other dyes, as for instance 
indigo, are made synthetically; that is, the chemist builds 
up a compound exactly like the one that nature makes by 
combining the same elements of which it is formed. 

HOW TO MAKE AND USE NATURAL-COLOR DYES. 

Direct, or Substansive Dyes. Nearly all the plant and 
animal dyes can be made by boiling the dye-stuffs in water 
(E2O). The goods to be dyed are immersed in these, and 

1 Indigo was formerly obtained from the indigo plant, which was extensively 
grown in India and Egypt, but practically all that is used now is made syn¬ 
thetically. 


271 


USEFUL HOUSEHOLD RECIPES 

hence they are called direct^ or substantive, dyes. Very often 
the color can be changed or improved by adding some other 
compound, thus: 

Red Logwood Dye. Put 3 ^ teaspoonful of logwood in 
a test tube half full of water {H2O) and boil it for several 
minutes. This done, put 34 teaspoonful of cobalt chloride 
{C0CI2JH2O) in another test tube one-third full of water 
(H2O); now pour the first solution into the second one, 
and you will have a dark-red dye. 

Black Logwood Dye. For this dye, use the same amount 
of ferric ammonium sulphate {{NH^2SO4.,Fe2iS0^z,H20) 
instead of cobalt chloride {CoCl2,H20) given above. 

Green Logwood Dye. For this dye use copper sulphate 
{CuS04,E20) instead of cobalt chloride (CoCl2,H20), as 
given for the red logwood dye. 

Yellow Tumeric Dye. Put a teaspoonful of tumeric in 
a test tube half full of water {H2O). Boil it for several 
minutes, and to this solution add a few drops of acetic acid 
{HCO2CH,). 

Brown Tumeric Dye. Add 34 teaspoonful of sodium 
carbonate {Na2C0z,E20) to the above tumeric solution. 

Note. — When an acid is added to a tumeric solution, it 
makes a yellow dye, and when an alkali is added to it, it 
makes a brown dye. 

Bright-Red Cochineal Dye. Put 34 teaspoonful of 
cochineal in a test tube half full of water {E2O) and boil 
it for a few minutes. 

Orange Cochineal Dye. Add 34 teaspoonful of tar¬ 
taric acid {C^EdO^ to the foregoing dye and shake the test 
tube thoroughly. 


272 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


Violet Cochineal Dye. Add H teaspoonful of sodium 
carbonate {Na2C0z^H20) to the red cochineal dye, and 
shake the test tube well. 

Note. — From this you will see that when an acid is 
added to a cochineal solution, it turns it an orange color, and 
when an alkali is added, it turns the solution to a violet color. 

Insoluble Dyes. Different from the above natural 
colors, indigo blue {CiqEiqN20^ and chrome^ which latter 
is a metallic color, will not dissolve in water {H2O) and, 
hence, these, and others like them, are called insoluble 
dyes. But indigo white {C\%Hi 2 N 20 ^ will dissolve in 
water {H2O). 

To Dye Indigo Blue. Dissolve 3 ^ teaspoonful of indigo 
white {Ci^Hi2N20‘^ in a test tube of hot water (H2O) and 
then soak a strip of muslin in it. Take it out and hang it 
up in the air to dry, and the oxygen ( 0 ) of the latter will 
oxidize it. This changes it into indigo blue (Cie-H^io^"202), 
which is a fast color. 

To Dye Tumeric Yellow. To dye a strip of muslin a 
beautiful permanent yellow put 34 teaspoonful of lead 
acetate {Ph{C02CHz)2jH20) in a test tube nearly full of 
water (H2O) and boil the cloth in this solution for a few 
minutes; this done, put 34 teaspoonful of potassium chromate 
{K2CrO^ in another test tube nearly full of water {H2O) 
and heat it. While the solution is boiling-hot, put the 
strip of goods in it and let it soak for a few minutes. 

When the potassium chromate {K2CrO^ comes in con¬ 
tact with the lead acetate {Ph{C02CH:^2,^20) in the 
goods they react on each other, and yellow lead chromate 
{PhCrO^ is formed; this latter compound is a precipitate 


USEFUL HOUSEHOLD RECIPES 


273 


and fills the fibers of the goods with a yellow color. As 
the lead chromate {PbCrO^ will not dissolve in water ( H2O), 
it cannot be washed out, and, so the color is a fast one. 

Mordant, or Adjective Dyes. Again different from in¬ 
soluble dyes are the mordant, or adjective dyes, as they are 
called. The word mordant comes from a Latin word which 
means to bite, and it is a substance that fixes, or bites a color 
in the goods. Take three test tubes, each of which is nearly 
full of water {H2O). In the first, dissolve as much alu¬ 
minum sulphate (AkiSO4)3,1120) as you can get on the 
head of a lead pencil. In the second, dissolve the same 
amount of ferric chloride (FeCk). In the third, dissolve 
the same amount chromic acetate {Cr{C02C You 
can hasten the action by heating the solutions. 

Now dissolve 34 teaspoonful of alizarin^ 
commonly called madder, and which is an orange-yellow 
dye, in each of the tubes; you will now have in the first one 
a red dye known as Turkey red, in the second a violet dye, 
and in the third one a maroon dye. This done, immerse a 
strip of goods in each of these different solutions, and the 
coloring matter will be absorbed by the mordant, and to¬ 
gether they form an insoluble dye called a lake in the fibers, 
and so each strip is dyed a permanent color. 

How to Make and Use Aniline Dyes. The simplest way 
to make dyes is to use aniline colors, and these are products 
of coal-tar. You can usually get these colors at a drug 
store, but if you actually want to dye a garment, the best 

1 Alizarin is the active coloring matter of madder, and 50 years ago this 
plant was largely grown and used as a dye to produce the well-known color 
called Turkey red. Alizarin is now made from anthracene, which is a coal-tar 
product. 


274 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


way to go about it is to buy dyes already put up in 
packets. 

Direct Aniline Dyes for Cotton Goods. For experimental 
purposes, take whatever color of aniline dye you want, say, 
black, red, green, blue, or yellow that will dissolve in water 
{H2O), and to get this kind you must ask for direct aniline 
dyes. Now nearly fill a test tube with water {H2O) and 
heat it until it boils; then add a few grains of the aniline 
dye at a time until you have produced the depth of color 
you want. This done, dip a strip of muslin or other cotton 
goods in the dye while it is still very hot, and the job is done. 

Mordant Aniline Dyes for Cotton Goods. To dye cotton 
goods with aniline dyes and fix them with a mordant, you 
must ask for basic aniline dyes. Put teaspoonful of 
tannic acid (C14-H10O9) in a test tube full of boiling water 
(H’20), and then put a few grains of basic aniline dye in 
another test tube half full of water {H2O) to give you the 
color you want. Now dip a strip of muslin in the mordant 
and let it soak for 5 minutes or so, then take it out and dip 
it in the aniline dye, and the color will be fixed there. 

Acid Colors for Silk and Woolen Goods. To dye silk 
and wool you must get aniline dyes that are sold under the 
name of acid colors. Add a few grains of the dye to a test 
tube nearly full of boihng-hot water {H2O) until you have 
the desired color, and then add as much sodium chloride 
{NaCl)j that is common table salt, as you can get on the 
head of a lead pencil. Now dip a strip of silk or woolen 

goods in the dye while it is hot, take the strip out and dip it 
in a solution of tannic acid {CuH^qO^), and the dye will be 

fixed there. 


USEFUL HOUSEHOLD RECIPES 


275 


How to Make Inks.— Black Ink. Put teaspoonful 
of tannic acid {CuHiqO^) in a test tube two-thirds full of 
water (ZZ^20); then put 3^ teaspoonful of ferric ammonium 
sulphate {{NH^2S0^yFe2{S0^z,H20) in another test tube 
two-thirds full of water, add teaspoonful of gum arable 
to it, and heat the contents to dissolve them. 

This done, pour the two solutions into a beaker and stir 
them well with a glass rod, and then add a couple of drops 
of oil of winter green to keep the ink from spoihng. Fill a 
bottle with the solution and you will have a good black ink. 
The moment the solutions come in contact, they react on 
each other and form ferric tannate {Fe{SOf)f)^ or iron tan- 
nate, as it is called, and it is this compound that makes the 
ink black. 

Blue Ink. To make blue ink, dissolve teaspoonful 
ferric ammonium sulphate {fNB.f)2S0^^Fe2{S0f)z^Fl20) in 
a test tube half full of water {H2O) and then dissolve Y 
teaspoonful of sodium ferrocyanide {Na^Fe{CN) q,H20 ) 
in a test tube half full of water (^20). This done, pour one 
solution into the other, and the reaction set up will form a 
blue precipitate, which is ferro-ferricyanide. 

Purple Ink. Put i teaspoonful of logwood into a test 
tube two-thirds full of water {H2O) and boil it until the 
coloring matter is well out of it; now add Y teaspoonful of 
aluminum sulphate {AhiSOf)^) and boil it again, and a 
fine purple ink will result. In this ink, a lake is made by 
the combination of the plant matter, that is, the logwood, 
with a metal, that is, with the aluminum sulphate {AI2 
{SO,),). 

Red Ink. Make the purple ink just described and then 


276 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


add I teaspoonful of sodium bisulphate {NaHSOj^ to it, 
and you will have a red ink. 

Green Ink. Put 3 ^ teaspoonful of nickel ammonium 
sulphate {{NH^2S0^jNiS0/i,,H20) and 34 teaspoonful of 
sodium ferrocyanide {Na4^Fe{CN)^,H20) in a test tube 
half full of water {H2O) and shake it until they are thor¬ 
oughly dissolved. This done, put in 34 teaspoonful of ferric 
ammonium sulphate {{N H^2S0A,Fe2{S0^z,H20),2ind again 
shake it until this is dissolved, and you will have a beauti¬ 
ful green ink. 

Note. — In writing with any of the above inks, always 
use a perfectly clean pen. 

Printer’s Ink. Put I teaspoonful of sodium silicate 
(Na2SiOs)j or water-glass, as it is called and teaspoon¬ 
ful of lampblack (C), which is the soot formed by burning 
oil residues, in your mortar and rub them together with 
the pestle until they are thoroughly mixed; put this mixture 
in a test tube and then fill it half full of water. 

This done, stir in 34 teaspoonful each of ferric ammonium 
sulphate {{N H^ 2 S 04 ,^Fe 2 {S 0 ^z,H 20 ), and tannic acid 
(C14JY10O9), and then shake the tube vigorously until a 
thick black liquid is formed; finally pour it out on your 
evaporating-dish and let it remain exposed to the air until 
the ink is of the proper consistency. 

SOME OTHER USEFUL RECIPES. 

How to Make a Liquid Ink Eraser. There are two ways 
to erase writing done with ink, and these are with a 
rubber steel ink eraser, and with a liquid bleaching com¬ 
pound. The latter usually makes the cleaner job when it 


USEFUL HOUSEHOLD RECIPES 


277 


is properly done. To make a liquid ink eraser, put tea¬ 
spoonful each of tartaric acid and calcium hypo¬ 

chlorite (Ca(0C/)2), that is, bleaching powder, dn a test 
tube one-third full of water {H2O) and shake it well to 
dissolve them. 

Now take a camePs-hair brush, dip it into the solution 
and wash it over the writing that you want to remove. It 
will quickly disappear, leaving no trace. The reaction that 
takes place is this: the calcium hypochlorite {Ca{OCl)‘^ 
and the tartaric acid combine, and in so doing 

chlorine gas {Cl) is set free. This forms hypochlorous 
acid (H CIO) when it comes in contact with the water ( H2O) 
that is in the pores of the paper. 

How to Make a Good China Cement. To make a cement 
for mending broken chinaware, take 3^ teaspoonful of 
albumen, that is, the white of an egg, and i teaspoonfuls 
of calcium carbonate (CaCOs) and mix them thoroughly 
together. To cement two or more pieces of chinaware 
together, clean the broken edges with hot water {H2O) and 
let them dry; now coat the edges with the cement, press 
the pieces together, and then let them dry for 4.8 hours, and 
a very firm joint will be made. 

How to Make an Adhesive Paste. Put 3 teaspoonfuls 
of powdered starch (Ce^ioOs) in a test tube one-third full of 
water ( E2O) and stir to a smooth paste. Now add H tea¬ 
spoonful of calcium chloride {CaCh) to a test tube one- 
third full of boiling water {H2O). Next, pour this latter 
solution into the first test tube and then bring it to a boil, 
add a drop or two of oil of wintergreen, to keep it sweet, 
and pour it into a bottle. 


278 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


How to Make Fire-Extinguishing Compounds. Among 
the chief fire-extinguishing compounds are water {H2O), 
carbon dioxide (CO2), and carbon tetrachloride (CC/4). 
Now make the following experiment: Light a sheet of 
paper and place it on an old plate, then let some water 
(H2O) trickle on it, and you will see that the blaze rapidly 
goes out. This is because water ( H2O) absorbs a considera¬ 
ble amount of the heat, keeps the temperature below the 
kindling point, and the steam {H2O) that is formed pre¬ 
vents the air from supplying more oxygen ( 0 ) to it. 

Now light another piece of paper and direct a jet of car¬ 
bon dioxide (CO2) on it, and the flame will be quickly ex¬ 
tinguished. This is because the carbon dioxide (CO2) will 
not support combustion and is heavier than the air; hence 
it soon forms a blanket over the fire, and as this prevents 
the oxygen ( 0 ) from feeding the flames, the latter cannot 
burn. 

In the usual kind of hand fire-extinguisher, the can to which 
the nozzle is connected is filled with a weak solution of 
sodium carbonate {Na2C0zyB20)\ and in the top of the can 
there is a bottle filled with sulphuric acid {H2S0f)\ now, 
when you turn the tank upside down the acid runs into the 
sodium carbonate solution and this sets free the carbon 
dioxide {CO2) that is in the latter. As the gas is generated 
in large quantities it develops a high pressure, and at the 
same time some of it is dissolved in the water (^Z’20), so 
that both of them are forced out in a stream and put out 
the fire, as explained above. 

Light a sheet of paper and then let a little stream of car¬ 
bon tetrachloride (CC/4) play on it, which you can do with 


USEFUL HOUSEHOLD RECIPES 


279 


a pipette. The instant this compound comes in contact 
with the flames it will put them out. This is because it 
forms a blanket of unburnable gas around the flames and 
so shuts out the oxygen ( 0 ). A new kind of hand fire-ex¬ 
tinguisher that uses carbon tetrachloride (CC/4) for the 
liquid is now on the market. 

How to Clean Silverware Chemically. Put I teaspoon¬ 
ful of sodium thiosulphate^ {Na2S20^jH20) in a test tube 
nearly full of water (H2O) and shake it well. Now moisten 
a clean piece of cloth with the compound and with it rub 
the silverware to be cleaned. The film on it, which is silver 
sulphide (^^2^), will react with the sodium thiosulphate 
{Na2S20zjH20), causing thiosulphuric acid (H2S20^) to be 
set free and the sulphur ( 5 ) to be precipitated, both of 
which are easily wiped off, leaving the silver clean and bright. 

How to Clean Silverware Electrically. Put the silver 
article to be cleaned in a zinc (Zn) or an aluminum (At) 
pan or kettle and pour on enough water (H2O) to cover it; 
this done, add i teaspoonful of sodium chloride (NaCt)^ 
which is common salt, for each pint of water (H2O). This 
done, let the water (H2O) in the pan or kettle boil for a 
couple of minutes, then take out the silver article and 
wash it in clean water (H2O). It will then be as clean and 
bright as new. In this process, the reaction is an electroly¬ 
tic one, that is, it is done by the action of an electric current, 
the pan or kettle serving as the negative pole, the silver 
article as the positive pole, and the salt solution as the 
battery solution, or electrolyte, as it is called. The film of 

1 This is the so-called hypo that is used for fixing negatives in photography. 
See Page 222. 


280 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


silver sulphide (^^2*5') on the article is removed by elec¬ 
trolysis^ that is, it is deposited on the zinc {Zn) or aluminum 
{Al) vessel by electrolytic action. 

How to Waterproof Goods. Make a solution by dissolv¬ 
ing I teaspoonful of aluminum acetate {Al{C02CH^^ in 
a test tube half full of water {H20)y and then soak a strip 
of musHn in it. This done, hold the muslin for a few min¬ 
utes over the spout of a teakettle from which live steam 
{H2O) is issuing. The steam {H2O) plus the aluminum 
acetate {Al{C02C combines and forms aluminum 
hydroxide {AliOH)^, which is precipitated, and this fills 
the hollow fibers of the cotton and makes them non-absorb¬ 
ent to such an extent that water ( H2O) has little or no effect 
on the goods. 

How to Fireproof Goods. All you need to do to make 
a piece of goods unburnable is to soak it in sodium silicate 
(NaSiOs), or water-glass, as this compound is commonly 
called. If you want to fireproof a board, use a paint-brush 
and coat it with water-glass. The way to make water-glass 
is explained in Chapter XIV. 

How to Make a Hair-Remover. Druggists sell depila¬ 
tory compounds of various kinds for removing superfluous 
hair, but you can make one easily and cheaply that is guaran¬ 
teed harmless. Get 3 ^ ounce of calcium sulphide {CaS) 
at the drug store and mix it with enough water {H2O) to 
make a thick paste. Now spread this compound on that 
part of your face where the offending hair is and leave it 
there over-night. In the morning, the hair that you want 
to get rid of will be gone, and, your face will not be injured. 

In this operation, the water {H2O) and calcium sulphide 


USEFUL HOUSEHOLD RECIPES 


281 


(CaS) react on each other and form calcium hydrosulphide 
{Ca{OH)S) and calcium hydroxide {Ca{OH)^y that is, 
slaked lime. Now since both alkalis and hydroxides will 
decompose proteins^ and as hair is made up of this substance, 
it is removed by them. 


282 


THE BOY CHEMIST 


LIST OF ELEMENTS AND THEIR SYMBOLS. 


Aluminum. 

. Al 

Antimony. 

. Sb 

Argon. 

. A 

Arsenic. 

. As 

Barium. 

. Ba 

Bismuth. 

. Bi 

Boron. 

. B 

Bromine. 

. Br 

Cadmium. 

. Cd 

Caesium. 

. Cs 

Calcium. 

. Ca 

Carbon. 

.C 

Cerium. 

. Ce 

Chlorine. 

. Cl 

Chromium.. 

. Cr 

Cobalt. 

. Co 

Columbium.. 

. Cb 

Copper. 

. Cu 

Dysprosium.. 

. Dy 

Erbium.. 

. Er 

Europium. 

. Eu 

Fluorine. 

.. FI 

Gadolinium. 

. Gd 

Gallium. 


Germanium. 

. Ge 

Glucinum. 

. Gl 

Gold. 

. Au 

Helium. 

. He 

Holmium. 

. Ho 

Hydrogen. 

. H 

Indium. 

. In 

Iodine. 

. I 

Iridium. 

. Ir 

Iron. 

. Fe 

Krypton. 

. Kr 

Lanthanum. 

. La 

Lead. 

. Pb 

Lithium. 

. Li 

Lutecium. 

. Lu 

Magnesium. 

. Mg 

Manganese. 

. Mn 

Mercury. 

. Bg 


Molybdenum. Mo 

Neodymium. Nd 

Neon. Ne 

Nickel. Ni 

Niton (radium emanation) .Nt 

Nitrogen. N 

Osmium. Os 

Oxygen. O 

Palladium. Pd 

Phosphorus. P 

Platinum. Pt 

Potassium. K 

Praseodymium. Pr 

Radium. Ra 

Rhodium. Rh 

Rubidium. Rh 

Ruthenium. Ru 

Samarium. Sm 

Scandium. Sc 

Selenium. Se 

Silicon. Si 

Silver. Ag 

Sodium. Na 

Strontium. Sr 

Sulphur. S 

Tantalum. Ta 

Tellurium. Te 

Terbium. Tr 

Thalliiun. Tl 

Thorium. Th 

ThuUum. Tm 

Tin. Sn 

Titanium. Ti 

Tungsten. W 

Uranium. Ur 

Vanadium. V 

Xenon. Xe 

Ytterbium. Yb 

Yttrium.F 

Zinc. Zn 

Zirconium. Zr 





















































































INDEX 


Absorbent Paper, 14 
Accordion in Hydrogen, An, 94 
Acid Colors, 274 

Acid Dyes for Silk and Woolen Goods, 
274 

Acid, Experiments with Hydrochloric, 

133 

Acid, Experiments with Sulphuric, 125 
Acid is made, How Chloroplatinic, 124 
Acid, How to make Hydrochloric, 131 
Acid, Hydrofluoric, 136 
Acid, How to make Nitric, 127 
Acid, How to make Sulphuric, 121 
Acid, Sulphuric, 119 
Acid, Sulphurous, 268 
Acids, Bases and Salts, 139 
Acids, Characteristics of, 118 
Acids Defined, 118 
Acids are Formed, How, 118 
Acids the Great Solvents, 118 
Acids, Most Useful, 118 
Action of Light on Silver Chloride, 214 
Activity of Metals, The, 151 
Adhesive Paste, How to make an, 277 
Adjective, or Mordant Dyes, 273 
Affinity of Hydrogen Chloride for 
Water, 130 
Agricola, 172 
Air, Ammonia in the, 24 
Air at Atmospheric Pressure, 25 
Air, Carbon Dioxide in the, 24 
Air as a Chemical Substance, 25 
Air, Compressed, 25 
Air Defined, 18 
Air is Formed of. What, 24 
Air is Good for. What the, 25 


Air, How to Show There is Carbon 
Dioxide in, 45 
Air, Liquid, 25 
Air is Liquefied, How, 25 
Air is made of. What the, 21 
Air a Mechanical Mixture, 24 
Air, Metals that Will Not Oxidize in 
the, 30 

Air, Other Elements in the, 24 
Air as a Physical Substance, 25 
Air in a Rarefied State, 25 
Air, Water Vapor in the, 24 
Air has Weight, Experiment to Show 
the, 21 

Air-Waves Defined, 210 

Air, Weight or Pressure of, 20 

Albumen, 223 

Alcohol, Methyl, 3, 81 

Alcohol Lamp, A Bought, 3 

Alcohol Lamp, How to make an, 3 

Alizarin, 109 

Alizarin Dye, 273 

Alkalis, 139 

Alkali Spots, How to Remove, 267 

Alloy, Bronze, 180, 181 

Alloy, Chrome-Vanadium Steel, 179 

Alloy, German Silver, 181 

Alloy, Gold Coin, 182 

Alloy, Gun-Metal, 181 

Alloy, Invar-Steel, 180 

Alloy is. What an, 178 

Alloy, Magnalium, 179 

Alloy, Manganese Steel, 179 

Alloy, Monel Metal, 181 

Alloy, Nickel-Steel, 180 

Alloy, Pewter, 180 




284 


INDEX 


Alloy, Silver Coin, i8i 
Alloy, Solder, i8o 
Alloy, Type Metal, i8o 
Alloy, Wood’s Metal, i8o 
Alloys, Brass, i8i 
Alloys, Gold, i8i 
Alloys of Copper, i8o 
Alloys of Iron and Steel, 179 
Alloys of Magnesium and Aluminum, 
178 

Alloys of Tin and Lead, 180 
Alloys, Silver, 181 
Alum, 159 
Alumen, 159 
Aluminum, 159, 160 
Aluminum and Magnesium Alloys, 178 
Aluminum Silicate is. What, 144 
Aluminum Sulphate, 109, 159 
Amalgam is. What an, 174, 182 
Amalgams, 182, 183 
Amalgams, Dental, 183 
Ammonia in the Air, 24 
Ammonia, Characteristics of, 98, 109 
Ammonia, Concentrated Liquid, 110 
Ammonia Defined, 109 
Ammonia Defined, Concentrated Li¬ 
quid, 114 

Ammonia Dissolves in Water, How, 112 
Ammonia, Experiment with Concen¬ 
trated Liquid, 116 
Ammonia, Experiments with, 109 
Ammonia Gas Liquefied, 114 
Ammonia, How to make Concentrated 
Liquid, 114 

Ammonia, How to make, no, in 
Ammonia-Operated Fountain, How to 
make, 113 

Ammonia as a Refrigerant, 116 
Ammonia, Some Uses of Aqua, 116 
Ammonia with the Heat of Your Hand, 
Boiling, 116 


Ammonium Chloride, 134 
Analyze Water, How to, 75 
Aniline Dyes, 270, 273 
Aniline Dyes for Cotton Goods, 274 
Animal Inhales Air, What Takes Place 
When an, 29 

Animal Matter, Oxidation of, 28 
Anions, 79 
Anthracite Coal, 207 
Anthrocene, 273 

Antimoniuretted Hydrogen is Made, 
How, 173 

Antimony, 172, 173 
Apatite, 156 

Apparatus Consists of. What, 2 
Apparatus for Distilling Water on a 
Larger Scale, 63 

Apparatus for Making Lead and Tin 
Rust, 27 

Apparatus for the Scintillating Watch- 
spring, 38 

Apparatus for the Self-lighting Match, 
36 

Apparatus for Separating Water Into 
its Original Gases, 77 
Apparatus You Need, The, i 
Aqua Ammonia, no, 116 
Aqua Regia, 177 
Aqua Regia, Formula for, 92 
Aqua Regia is Made, How, 124, 135 
Argentum is. What, 175 
Argon, 24, 191 
Arrow Means, What an, 194 
Artificial Color Dyes, 270 
Artificial Production of Life, 237 
Artificial Silk is Made, How, 171 
Asbestos, 124 
Atmosphere, 18 
Atomizer, The Magical, 232 
Atoms Defined, 189 
Atoms Form Molecules, How, 188 




INDEX 


285 


Atoms, How Electrons Form, i88 
Atoms, Negatively Charged, 78 
Atoms of Oxygen, 190 
Atoms of Ozone, 190 
Atoms, Positively Charged, 78 
Atoms Split Up by Rutherford, 22 
Aurum Means, What, 177 

Bacteria, 25 
Baking Soda, 154 
Balance or Scales, Hand, 11 
Balance or Scales, Use of, 10 
Bandanna Handkerchief, How to Make 
a, 107 

Barometer, 19 
Bases, 139, 140 

Battery Plates, Amalgamating, 182 

Beakers, Nest of, 6 

Bend Glass Tubing, How to, 17 

Bengal Lights, How to Make, 258 

Bengal Saltpeter Defined, 127 

Benzine, 265 

Bismuth, 172 

Bismuth Glance is. What, 172 
Bituminous Coal, 207 
Blackboard Crayon, 48 
Black Ink, How to Make, 275 
Black Logwood Dye, 271 
Bladder for a Gas Bag, How to Pre¬ 
pare a, 88 

Bleaching Agent, Chlorine as a, 103 
Bleaching, Art of, 103 
Bleaching Compounds, How to Make, 
268 

Bleaching Liquid, How to Make a, 107 

Bleaching Powder, 106 

Bleaching Power of Chlorine, 104 

Blue Flash Paper, 254 

Blue Indigo Dye, 272 

Blue Ink, How to Make, 275 

Blue Litmus Paper, 14 


Blue Paper, How to Make and Use, 225 

Bluestone, 171 

Blue Vitriol, 126, 171 

Boiler Scale, 60 

Boiling Ammonia with the Heat of 
Your Hand, 116 
Boil Water, How to, 59 
Bottle, Two- and Three-Necked, 8 
Bottle, WoulfT’s, 8 
Bottles, Stoppers for, 8 
Bottles, Wide-Mouth, 8 
Brass Alloys, i8i 
Brass, Cyprium, 170 
Bread Dough Rise, What Makes, 25 
Breathing a Picture on Glass, 234 
Brittleness, 184, 187 
Broniine was Named, How, 191 
Bronze Alloys, 180, 181 
Brown Tumeric Dye, 271 
Burning and Combustion, About, 25 
Burning Process Is, What the, 195 
Bunsen Burner, A Bought, 3 
Bunsen Burner, Experiments with a, 

202 

Bunsen Burner, How to Light a, 202 
Bunsen Burner, How to Make, 3 
Bunsen Burner is Made, How, 202 
Bunsen Burner, Luminous Flame of a, 

203 

Bunsen Burner, Non-Luminous Flame 
of a, 203 

Bunsen Burner Works, How a, 202 
Bunsen, German Scientist, 202 
Burner, A Bunsen, 3 
Burns, How a Candle, 198 
Bussy, French Chemist, 158 

Cadmium, 180 
Calcined Magnesia, 158 
Calcium, 156 

Calcium Carbonate Defined, 46 




286 


INDEX 


Calcium, Experiments with, 157 
Calcium Fluoride, 136 
Calcium Hydroxide, 140, 141 
Calcium Oxide, 141 
Calx, 156 

Camera, How to Make a Pinhole, 216 
Camera is Made, How a Real, 217 
Candle from its Flame, How to Sepa¬ 
rate a, 54 

Candle Burns, How a, 198 
Capillary Attraction, 198 
Carat Means, What, 181 
Carbolic Acid Is, What, 269 
Carbonate of Lime, 46 
Carbon Dioxide Defined, 45 
Carbon Dioxide Destroys Life, To 
Show that, 52 

Carbon Dioxide, Experiments with, 32, 
45 

Carbon Dioxide has Weight, To Show 

^hat, S3 

Carbon Dioxide, How to Make, 47, 50 
Carbon Dioxide in Air, How to Show, 45 
Carbon Dioxide in the Air, 24 
Carbon Dioxide Is, What, 25 
Carbon Dioxide, and Oxygen, Magical 
Experiment with Air, 52 
Carbon Dioxide, To Show that You 
Exhale, 46 

Carbon Dioxide Will Not Support Com¬ 
bustion, How to Show, SI 
Carbon, How to Change Sugar into, 12s 
Cassiterite, 168 
Catalysis, 3s, 123 
Catalytic Agent, 33, 124 
Catalyzers, 123 
Cations, 78 
Caustic Lime, 140 
Caustic Potash, 142 
Caustic Soda, 141 
Cavendish, 73 


Cellulose, 171, 214 
Cement, How to Make a China, 277 
Centrifugal Force, 18 
Charcoal is Made, How, 206 
Charcoal, How to Make, 203 
Chemical Action, Light by, 197 
Chemical Affinity, 189 
Chemical Compound Is, Experiments 
to Show what a, 23 
Chemical Compound, Making a, 23 
Chemical Compounds, 22 
Chemically, How to Clean Silverware, 
279 

Chemicals, How to Keep, 12 
Chemicals, How to Label, 12, 13 
Chemicals, Your Supply of, ii 
Chemistry of Photography, 212 
Chemistry Simply Explained, 184 
Chemistry, White Magic of, 227 
Chili Saltpeter Defined, 127 
China Cement, How to Make, 277 
Chloride of Lime, 106, 266, 269 
Chlorine Acts on Flame, How, 102 
Chlorine as a Bleaching Agent, 103, 104 
Chlorine, Characteristics of, 98 
Chlorine Disinfectant, 269 
Chlorine, Experiments with, 99 
Chlorine, How to Dry, 104 
Chlorine, How to Make, 100 
Chlorine, How to Test for, 102 
Chlorine, How to Test the Bleaching 
Power of, 104 

Chlorine was Named, How, 191 
Chloroplatinic Acid is Made, How, 124 
Chrocoisite, 164 

Chrome-Vanadium Steel Alloy, 179 
Chromite, 164 
Chromium, 164 

Chromium Crystals Burst Into Flame, 
How to Make, 163 
Cinnabar, 173 



INDEX 


287 


Clean Silverware Chemically, How to, 
279 

Clean Silverware Electrically, How to, 
279 

Coal, 207 

Coal Gas, How to Make, 208 

Coal-Tar and Coke, 208 

Coal-Tar Dyes, 270 

Cobaltite, 151 

Cochineal Dye, 264 

Cochineal Dye, Orange, 271 

Cochineal Dye, Red, 271 

Cochineal Dye, Violet, 272 

Coke and Coal-Tar, 208 

Colored Fire, How to Make, 256 

Colored Flames, How to Make, 204 

Colored Flash Paper, How to Make, 254 

Colored Soap, How to Make, 264 

Colors, Acid, 274 

Combustion and Burning, About, 25 
Combustion, Carbon Dioxide Will Not 
Support, 51 

Combustion, How Ventilation Affects, 
198 

Combustion Is, What, 195 
Combustion, Spontaneous, 102 
Commercial Nitric Acid Defined, 127 
Common Salt Defined, 98 
Common Table Salt Is, What, 146 
Compounds of Antimony, 173 
Compounds of Bismuth, 172 
Compounds of Calcium, 156 
Compounds of Chromium, 164 
Compounds of Copper, 171 
Compounds of Gold, 177 
Compounds of Iron, 165 
Compounds of Lead, 169 
Compounds of Lithium, 155 
Compounds of Magnesium, 158 
Compounds of Manganese, 162 
Compounds of Mercury, 175 


Compounds of Nickel, 167 
Compounds of Platinum, 178 
Compounds of Potassium, 153 
Compounds, Silver, 176 
Compounds of Sodium, 154 
Compounds of Tin, 168 
Compressed Air, 25 
Concentrated Liquid Ammonia, no 
Concentrated Liquid Ammonia De¬ 
fined, 114 

Concentrated Liquid Ammonia, How 
to Make, 114 

Concentrated Nitric Acid Defined, 127 
Concrete Is, What, 144 
Condensation, Process of, 62 
Contact Agent, 124 
Copper, 170 
Copper Alloys, 180 

Copper as a Conductor of Electricity, 
171 

Copper, How to Electroplate with, 171 
Copper Sulphate, 126, 171 
Copperas, 126, 162 
Cork-Borer, A, 8 

Cork, How to Make a Hole in a, 8 
Corrosive Sublimate Is, What, 168, 240 
Cotton Goods, Bleaching Compound 
for, 268 

Cotton Goods, Dyes for, 274 
Crucible, Porcelain, 8 
Crystallization Is, What Water of, 65 
Crystals, How to Make Rock-Candy, 66 
Crystals, Watch, 9 
Cuper, 170 

Cupric Sulphate, How to Make, 126 
Cuprium, 170 
Cylinder, Graduated, 10 

Davy, Sir Humphrey, 152, 154, 157,159 
Decahydrate and Hydrate, 65 
Deliquescence, 65, 149 



288 


INDEX 


Deliquescent Substances, 97 
Dental Amalgams, 183 
Depilatory Compound, 280 
Develop a Dry Plate or Film, How to, 
220 

Developer, How to Make a, 221 
Developing-Out-Print, How to Make a, 
225 

Diffusion, 86 

Diffusion of Hydrogen, 85 
Direct Aniline Dyes for Cotton Goods, 
274 

Direct or Substantive Dyes, 270 

Disinfectant, Oxygen as a, 107 

Disinfectants, How to Make, 269 

Dissociation, 78 

Distil Water, How to, 60 

Distilled Water, Test for the Purity of, 

63 

Distilling Water on a Larger Scale, 
Apparatus for, 63 

Drummond Light, How to Make a, 39 
Dry-Cleanse Goods, How to, 146 
Dry-Cleansing, 265 
Dry the Negative, How to, 222 
Dry Plate, How to Develop a, 220 
Dry Plate, How a Picture is Made on, 
220 

Dry Plates are Made, How, 217 
Ductility, 184, 187 
Dye, Blue Indigo, 272 
Dye, Brown Tumeric, 271 
Dye, Green Logwood, 271 
Dye, Red Cochineal, 271 
Dye, Violet Cochineal, 272 
Dye, Yellow Tumeric, 271 
Dyes, Aniline, 270 
Dyes, Artificial Color, 270 
Dyes, Coal Tar, 270 
Dyes, Direct or Substantive, 270 
Dyes for Cotton Goods, 274 


Dyes for Silk and Woolen Goods, 274 
Dyes from Coal Tar, 208 
Dyes, How to Make and Use, 270 
Dyes, How to Make and Use Aniline, 

273 

Dyes, How to Make and Use Natural 
Color, 270 
Dyes, Insoluble, 272 
Dyes, Mordant or Adjective, 273 
Dyes, Natural Color, 270 
Dyes, Synthetic, 270 

Efflorescence, 65 

Electric Bell in Hydrogen, An, 93 
Electric Cell, Electrolyte for, 163 
Electric Cell, How to Make a Simple, 
163 

Electric Spark to Make Ozone, 31 
Electric Spark, Synthetic Water with 
an, 79 

Electrically, How to Clean Silverware, 
279 

Electricity, 184, 187 
Electricity, Charges of, 189 
Electrodes, 79 
Electrolysis, 279 
Electrolysis of Water, 76, 78 
Electrolyte, 76 

Electrolyte for an Electric Cell, 163 
Electromagnetic Waves, 197 
Electrons, 188, 189 

Electroplate with Copper, How to, 171 
Elements, 190 

Elements and their Symbols, List of, 
282 

Elixir Vitae, or the Artificial Production 
of Life, 237 

Emeralds, How to Make Imitation, 135 
Emulsion, How to Make a Silver Bro¬ 
mide, 218 
Emulsion, 219 



INDEX 


289 


Epsom Salts, 63, 127 
Equations are, What, 193 
Eraser, How to Make a Liquid Ink, 2 76 
Etch Glass, Easy Way to, 138 
Etch Glass with Fluorine Gas, How to, 
136 

Ether Is, What the, 197 
Ether, Light Waves in the, 209 
Ether Waves, 210 
Eudiometer, The, 79 
Evaporating-Dish, Porcelain, 9 
Exhale Carbon Dioxide, To Show that 
You, 46 

Experiment, Great Smoke, 133 
Experiment in Ventilation, 199 
Experiment Showing How a Safety 
Lamp Works, 199 

Experiment to Show Impenetrability 

185 

Experiment to Show that Air is Used 
when Iron Rusts, 27 
Experiment to Show that Metals Rust, 
26 

Experiment to Show the Air has Weight, 
21 

Experiment to Show what a Mechanical 
Mixture Is, 22 

Experiment with Air, Carbon Dioxide 
and Oxygen, Magical, 52 
Experiment with Aluminum, An, 159 
Experiment with Concentrated Liquid 
Ammonia, 116 

Experiment with Copper, An, 171 
Experiment with Gold, An, 177 
Experiment with Iron, An, 165 
Experiment with Lithium, An, 156 
Experiment with Manganese, An, 162 
Experiment with Mercury, An, 175 
Experiment with Potassium, An, 153 
Experiment with Silver, An, 176 
Experiment with Sodium, An, 154 


Experiment with Spontaneous Com¬ 
bustion, 102, 129 
Experiment with Tin, 168 
Experiment with. What You Need to, i 
Experiment with Zinc, 163 
Experiments to Show what a Chemical 
Compound Is, 23 
Experiments with Ammonia, 109 
Experiments with Antimony, 173 
Experiments with Bismuth, 172 
Experiments with a Bunsen Burner, 
202 

Experiments with Calcium, 157 
Experiments with Carbon Dioxide, 45 
Experiments with Chlorine, 99 
Experiments with Chromium, 164 
Experiments with Hydrochloric Acid, 

133 

Experiments with Hydrogen, 75, 87 
Experiments with Hydrogen and Sound, 
93 

Experiments with Hydroxides, 144 
Experiments with Magnesium, 158 
Experiments with Nitric Acid, 129 
Experiments with Nitrogen, 41 
Experiments with Oxygen and Carbon 
Dioxide, 46 

Experiments with Oxygen, Nitrogen 
and Carbon Dioxide, 32 
Experiments with a Silver Nitrate Solu¬ 
tion, 213 

Experiments with Sulphuric Acid, 125 
Explosive Matches, How to Make, 249 

Ferric Defined, 24 

Ferric Oxide as a Catalytic Agent, 124 

Ferric Oxide Is, What, 26 

Ferric Sulphide, How to Make, 166 

Ferrous Chloride Crystals, 135 

Ferrous Defined, 24 

Ferrous Sulphate, How to Make, 126 



290 


INDEX 


Ferrum Is, What, 24 

Fertilizer, Ammonia as a, 117 

Film, How to Develop a, 220 

Film, How a Picture is Made on a, 220 

Films are Made, How, 217 

Filter Paper, 7 

Filter Paper, How to Crease, 58 
Filter Water, How to, 58 
Fire-Damp Is, What, 199 
Fire-Eating Trick, The Great, 256 
Fire Extinguishing Compound, How to 
Make, 278 

Fire, How to Make Green, 258 
Fire, How to Make Red, 256 
Fire, How to Make Yellow, 258 
Fire Ink, How to Write with, 247 
Fire Is, What, 195 
Fire Originated, How the Word, 195 
Fire without a Match, How to Make a, 
247 

Fireproof Goods, How to, 280 
Fireworks, Safe and Sane, 246 
Fix the Image, How to, 221 
Fixing Bath, How to Make a, 221 
Flame, How Chlorine Acts on, 102 
Flame, How Hydrogen Acts on, 87 
Flame, How to Make a Hydrogen, 86 
Flame, How to Separate a Candle from 
its, 54 

Flame Is, What, 196 
Flame of an Alcohol Lamp, 200 
Flame of a Bunsen Burner, 203 
Flame of a Candle, 198 
Flame Organ Pipe, A Hydrogen, 95 
Flame, Self-Lighting, How to Make, 91 
Flame, Synthetic Water with an Alco¬ 
hol, 80 

Flames, How to Make Colored, 204 
Flash Handkerchief Is, What a, 254 
Flash Handkerchiefs, How to Make, 254 
Flashing Charcoal Pill, The, 36 


Flash-Light Experiment, How to Make, 

158 

Flash-Light, How to Make a, 248 
Flash-Light, How to Make a Green, 252 
Flash-Light, How to Make a Red, 252 
Flash-Light, How to Make a White, 251 
Flash-Light Powder, How to Make, 

159 ^ 

Flash-Lights are Made, How, 158 
Flash Paper, How to Make, 253 
Flash Paper, How to Make Colored, 254 
Flask, Erlenmeyer, 6 
Flask, Spherical, 6 
Flasks, Annealed Glass, 6 
Flexibility, 184, 188 
Floating Soap, How to Make, 264 
Fluorescence, 239 

Fluorescent Secret Ink, How to Make, 

239 

Fluoride, 156 

Fluorine, Characteristics of, 136 
Fluorine Gas, How to Etch Glass with, 
136 

Fluorine and Hydrofluoric Acid, About, 
136 

Fluor Spar, 136, 156 
Forceps or Tweezers, 9 
Forecaster, How to Make a Weather, 68 
Formaldehyde Disinfectant, 269 
Formalin, How Made, 269 
Formula is. What a, 192 
Fountain, How to Make an Ammonia 
Operated, 113 

Fountain, How to Make a Hydrogen 
Chloride, 133 

Fourth of July Sparklers, How to Make, 
250 

Fuming Nitric Acid, 129 
Funnel, Glass, 7 
Fur in the Kettle, 60 
Fuse, How to Make a Safe, 248 



INDEX 


291 


Gahn, i6i 
Galena, 169 
Gases, The Rare, 24 
Gas Bag, How to Use a Bladder for a, 
88 

Gas Lamps Burn, How, 201 
Gas-Light Print, How to Make a, 225 
Gasoline, 265 
Gauze, Iron, 4 

Geissler Tube, Phosphorescent Light 
of the, 197 

German Silver Alloy, 181 
Glass, Easy Way to Etch, 138 
Glass, German Soft, 16 
Glass, How to Etch, 136 
Glass Nozzle, How to Draw a, 17 
Glass Stirring Rod, 5 
Glass Tube, How to Cut a, 16 
Glass Tube, How to Smooth Up the 
Edges of a, 16 

Glass Tubing, German Soft, 10 
Glass Tubing, How to Bend, 17 
Glass Tubing, How to Work, 16 
Glass with Fluorine Gas, How to Etch, 
136 

Glauber’s Salt defined, 65 
Glauber’s Salt is. What, 147 
Glycerine Soap, How to Make, 264 
Gold AUoys, 181 

Gold Chloride is Made, How, 177 
Gold Coin Alloys, 182 
Graduated Cylinder, 10 
Graduated Glass, 8 
Gravitational Force, 18 
Grease Spots, How to Take Out, 265 
Green Fire, How to Make, 258 
Green Flash-Light, 252 
Green Flash Paper, 254 
Green Ink, How to Make, 276 
Green Logwood Dye, 271 


Green Vitriol, 126, 162 
Guncotton is, What, 253 
Gun Metal Alloy, 181 

Hair, Bleaching Compound for, 268 
Hair in Lime, 144 

Hair Remover, How to Make a, 280 
Hand Balance or Scales, ii 
Handkerchiefs, How to Make Flash, 254 
Hard Coal, 207 

Hard Soap Experiment Works, How 
the, 145 

Hard Soap, How to Make, 145 
Hardness, 184,187 
Heat by Chemical Action, 197 
Heat, How to Make, 197 
Heat is. What, 196 

Heat of your Hand, Boiling Ammonia 
with the, 116 

Heat, The Sensation of, 196 
Heat, Sun the Source of all, 197 
Heat Sympathetic Ink, How to Make, 
238 

Heat without Light, 197 
Helium, 191 
Hematite, 165 
High-Speed Steel, 179 
Household Recipes, Useful, 263 
Hydrargyram, 174 

Hydrate and Decahydrate Defined, 65 
Hydrochloric Acid, 130, 131 
Hydrochloric Acid, Experiments with, 

133 

Hydrofluoric Acid for Etching Glass, 
138 

Hydrofluoric Acid and Fluorine, About, 
136 

Hydrogen, An Accordion in, 94 
Hydrogen Acts in Flame, How, 87 
Hydrogen Acts on Sound, How, 93 



292 


INDEX 


Hydrogen, Characteristics of, 75 
Hydrogen Chloride Experiment Works, 
How, 132 

Hydrogen Chloride for Water, Affinity 
of, 130 

Hydrogen-Chloride Fountain, How to 
Make, 133 

Hydrogen Chloride Gas, 130 
Hydrogen Chloride, How to Make, 131 
Hydrogen, Diffusion of, 85 
Hydrogen, An Electric Bell in, 93 
Hydrogen, Experiments with, 87 
Hydrogen Flame, How to Make, 86 
Hydrogen Flame Organ Pipe, 95 
Hydrogen Flame Organ Pipe Works, 
How the, 96 

Hydrogen Gas, How to Dry, 97 
Hydrogen Gas, How to Purify, 96 
Hydrogen, How to Make, 82 
Hydrogen, How to Pour Out, 85 
Hydrogen on the Voice, Curious 
Effect of, 94 

Hydrogen and Oxygen, 95 
Hydrogen Peroxide, 268, 269 
Hydrogen, Squeaking Head in, 93 
Hydrogen Soap Bubbles,How to Blow,88 
Hydrogen was Named, How, 191 
Hydrogen without an Acid Works, How 
the Experiment of Making, 84 
Hydrogen without an Acid, How to 
Make, 83 

Hydroxide Defined, 140 
Hydroxide is Made, How Lithium, 156 
Hydroxides are Formed, How, 140 
Hydroxides, Experiments with, 144 
Hydroxides, How to Make the, 141 
Hypochlorous Acid, 102 

Ice Defined, 57 

Ice, How to Ignite a Paper with a Piece 
of, 256 


Ice, How to Make, 64 
Ignite a Paper with a Piece of Ice, How 
to, 256 

Ignite a Paper without a Flame, How 
to, 254 

Illuminating Oils, 201 
Image, How Light Forms an, 216 
Image, How to Fix the, 221 
Imitation Emeralds, How to Make, 135 
Impenetrability, 184,185 
Indelibly on Cotton Goods, How to 
write, 126 

Indestructibility, 184, 185 
Indicator Papers and Solutions, 13 
Indicators, Phenolphthalein and Litmus 
Paper, 63 

Indigo Blue Dye, 272 
Induction Coil, 79 

Inhale Oxygen, To Show that you, 46 
Ink Eraser, How to Make a Liquid, 276 
Ink, How to Make Black, 275 
Ink, How to Make Printer’s, 276 
Ink, How to Make Secret Writing, 67 
Ink, How to Write with Fire, 247 
Ink into Water and Vice Versa, How to 
Change, 229 

Ink Spots, How to Take Out, 226 
Inks, How to Make Colored Writing, 
27s, 276 

Inks, Sympathetic, 238 
Insoluble Dyes, 272 
Invar Steel Alloy, 180 
Ions defined, 78 
Ionization defined, 78 
Iron, 165 
Iron Gauze, 4 

Iron got its Name, How, 24 

Iron, How to Test Water for, 74 

Iron Pyrites, 150 

Iron Rust is. What, 165 

Iron Rust Stains, How to Remove, 267 



INDEX 


293 


Iron Rusts, Experiment to Show how, 
26, 27 

Iron and Steel Alloys, 179 
Iron Suplhate, 126 
Iron Tannate, 275 

Kalium, 152 
Krypton, 24, 191 

Labeling Chemicals, 12, 13 
Laboratory Method of Making Sul¬ 
phuric Acid, 121 
Lake Defined, 273 
Lamp Burns, How an Alcohol, 200 
Lamp, How to Make an Alcohol, 3 
Lamp Works, How a Safety, 199 
Lamps Burn, How Oil and Gas, 201 
Lapidolite, 155 
Lead, 169 

Lead Oxide is. What, 27 
Lead Rust, Apparatus for Making, 27 
Lead and Tin Alloys, 180 
Lead-Tree, How to Make a, 169 
Levitation of a Soap Bubble, 55 
Life, Artificial Production of, 237 
Life, To Show that Carbon Dioxide 
Destroys, 52 

Light Acts on Silver Salts, How, 212 
Light by Chemical Action, 197 
Light Forms an Image, How, 216 
Light, How to Make an Oxy-Calcium, 

39 

Light is. What, 196, 209 
Light on Compounds, Action of, 212 
Light on Plants and Animals, Action of, 
212 

Light on Silver Chloride, Action of, 214 
Light Sympathetic Ink, How to Make 
a, 238 

Light Travels, How, 216 
Light without Heat, 197 


Lights, How to Make Bengal, 258 
Lights, How to Make Rainbow, 249 
Light-Waves, are. What, 209 
Light-Waves, How a Candle Sends Out, 
212 

Lime, 139 

Lime, Derivation of the Word, 156 
Lime, Things Made of, 144 
Lime-Light, How to Make a, 40 
Lime-Water, How to Make, 45 
Linen Goods, Bleaching Compound for, 
268 

Linen Goods, How to Bleach, 268 
Liquefied Ammonia Gas, 114 
Liquid Air, 25 

Liquid Air, Nitrogen from, 41 
Liquid Ammonia, Concentrated, no 
Liquid Ammonia Defined, 114 
Lithium, 155, 156 

Lithium Hydroxide is Made, How, 156 
Litmus Paper Acts, How, 14 
Litmus Paper, Blue, 14 
Litmus Paper as an Indicator, 63 
Local Action is. What, 175 
Lodestone is. What, 161 
Logwood Dye, Black, 271 
Logwood Dye, Green, 271 
Logwood Dye, Red, 271 
Luminous Flame of a Bunsen Burner, 
203 

Luminous Paint, 157, 242 
Lunar Caustic, 213, 238 
Lycopodium Powder, 91 

Madder Dye, 273 
Magical Atomizer, The, 232 
Magical Experiment with Air, Carbon 
Dioxide and Oxygen, 52 
Magnalium Alloy, 179 
Magnes, 161 
Magnesite, 127 



294 


INDEX 


Magnesium, 157, 158 

Magnesium Alba, 158 

Magnesium and Aluminum Alloys, 178 

Magnesium Sulphate, To Make, 129 

Magnetite, 165 

Malachite, 151 

Malleability, 184, 187 

Manganese, 161 

Manganese-Steel Alloy, 179 

Marum and Ozone, 30 

Mass Defined, 189 

Match, A Self-Lighting, 35 

Match, The Self-Extinguishing, 44 

Matches, How to Make Explosive, 249 

Materialization of Mysteria, 241 

Matter, 184, 188 

Measurements, English System of, ii 
Measurements, Metric System, 10 
Measuring Glass, 8 
Mechanical Mixtures, 22 
Medicine Dropper or Pipette, 5 
Medicines from Coal-Tar, 208 
Mercury, 174 

Mercury, the Base of Amalgams, 1S2 
Mercury, How to Amalgamate with, 

175 

Metal Activities, Table of, 151 

Metal is, What a, 150 

Metal Ores, Kinds of, 150 

Metals, Active, 151 

Metals, the Activity of, 151 

Metals that Dissolve in Water, 139 

Metals, How Nitric Acid Acts on, 129 

Metals, Inactive, 151 

Metals, The Mystic, 150 

Metals, The Noble, 136 

Metals Occur in Nature, How, 150 

Metals Rust, To Show that, 26 

Metals that will not Oxidize in Air, 30 

Methyl Alcohol, 3, 81 

Methyl Orange Acts, How, 15 


Metric System of Measurements, 10 
Microscope, Matter Through a, 188 
Microscope, Molecules Under the, 196 
Mildew Stains, How to Remove, 267 
Milk, 266 
Mineral Wool, 124 
Minium, 169 

Mirrors are Made, How, 182 
Molecules, 189 

Molecules, How Atoms Form, 188 
Molecules Under the Microscope, 196 
Monel Metal Alloy, 181 
Mordant, or Adjective Dyes, 273 
Mordant Aniline Dyes for Cotton 
Goods, 274 

Mortar, How to Make, 144 
Mortar and Pestle, 7 
Muriatic Acid, 106 
Mystic Metals, The 150 • 

Mysteria, Materialization of, 241 

Natrium, 154 

Natural Color Dyes, How to Make and 
Use, 270 

Negative Electrode Defined, 79 
Negative, How to Dry the, 223 
Negative, To Make a Print from, 223 
Negative, How To Wash the, 222 
Negative Ions, 78 
Negatively Charged Atoms, 78 
Neon, 24, 191 
Neutralize Defined, 140 
Nickel, 167 

Nickel-Plate a Coin, How to, 167 
Nickel-Steel Alloy, 180 
Nitrates, 129 
Nitre, 121 

Nitric Acid, About, 127 
Nitric Acid Acts on Metals, How, 129 
Nitric Acid, Experiments with, 129 
Nitric Acid, How to Make, 127 



INDEX 


295 


Nitro-Cellulose is, What, 253 
Nitrogen, Experiments with, 32, 41 
Nitrogen, How to Make, 41, 42, 43, 44 
Noble Metals, The, 136 
Non-Luminous Flame of a Bunsen 
Burner, 203 
Non-Metal, 150 

Nozzle, How to Draw a Glass, 17 

Oil Lamps Burn, How, 201 
Oil of Vitriol, 82, 119 
Orange Cochineal Dye, 271 
Ores, Kinds of, 150 
Organ Pipe, A Hydrogen-Flame, 95 
Organic Matter, How to Test Water 
for, 71 

Organic Matter is. What, 213 
Organic Substances, 71 
Oxidation Causes Decay, How Slow, 28 
Oxidation is. What, 26, 196 
Oxidation of Vegetable and Animal 
Matter, 28 

Oxidation of Zinc, The Rapid, 248 
Oxidize in the Air, Metals that will not, 

30 

Oxidizing Agent, Oxygen as, 106 
Oxy-Calcium Light, To Make an, 39 
Oxygen Apparatus, To Set Up the, 34 
Oxygen as an Oxidizing Agent, 106 
Oxygen, Atoms of, 190 
Oxygen as a Disinfectant, 107 
Oxygen Changed into Ozone, 31 
Oxygen, Experiments with, 32 
Oxygen Experiment Works, How the, 

35 

Oxygen, How to Make, 32, 33 
Oxygen, How Sulphur Burns in, 41 
Oxygen and Hydrogen, 75 
Oxygen, Magical Experiment with Air, 
Carbon Dioxide and, 52 
Oxygen on Phosphorus, Action of, 38 


Oxygen, To Show that You Inhale, 46 
Oxygen will not Affect, Substances that, 

30 

Ozone, 30, 31 

Ozone, Atoms of, 190 

Ozone, How to Change Water into, 138 

Ozone Test Paper, How to Make, 31 

Paint Spots, How to Take Out, 266 
Paper, Filter, 7 

Paper, How to Make Flash, 253, 254 
Paper is Made of. What, 214 
Paper without a Flame, To Ignite, 254 
Paper with a Piece of Ice, How to Ignite 
a, 256 

Papers, Kinds of Photographic, 223 
Passing Smoke Invisibly into a Tumbler, 

23s 

Paste, How to Make an Adhesive, 277 
Pearl White is. What, 172 
Perfumed Soap, How to Make, 264 
Perfumes from Coal-Tars, 208 
Permanent Hardness, How to Test for 
and Get Rid of, 70 

Permanent Hardness in Water, 60, 69 
Pewter Alloy, 180 

Pharaoh’s Serpents, How to Make, 260 
Phenol Disinfectant, 269 
Phenolphthalein, 14, 63 
Phosphine Smoke Rings, To Make, 258 
Phosphorescence, 243 
Phosphorescent Light, 197 
Phosphoretted Hydrogen, 259 
Phosphorite, 156 

Phosphorus, Action of Oxygen on, 38 
Phosphorus, Kinds of, 39 
Photographic Papers, Kinds of, 223 
Photographic Print, How to Tone a, 224 
Photographic Print, To Make a, 223 
Photographs, How to Make, 209 
Photography, Chemistry of, 212 




296 


INDEX 


Photography, Physics of, 216 
Pinhole Camera, How to Make a, 216 
Pipette or Medicine Dropper, 5 
Plaster, 144 
Platina, 178 

Platinized Asbestos as a Contact Agent, 
124 

Platinum, 178 
Platinum, Spongy, 92 
Plumbum, 169 

Poisonous Chemicals, How to Label, 17 

Porcelain Crucible, 8 

Porcelain Evaporating-Dish, 9 

Portland Cement, 144 

Positive Electrode, 79 

Positive Ions, 78 

Positively Charged Atoms, 78 

Potash Beds of Germany, 148 

Potash, 152 

Potash Lye, 139, 142 

Pot-ashes, 152 

Potassium, 152, 153 

Potassium Chloride, How to Make, 148 
Potassium Nitrate, 127, 149 
Pressure or Weight of the Air, 20 
Print, To Make a Photographic, 223 
Printer’s Ink, How to Make, 276 
Printing Out Paper, 223 
Properties of Matter, 184 
Pumice Stone, 204 
Pure Nitric Acid, 127 
Purify Hydrogen Gas, How to, 96 
Purify Water, How to, 58 
Purple Ink, How to Make 275 
Pyrolusite, 161 

Quicklime, 45, 141 
Quick-Match, 255 

Radium, 191 
Rarefied Air, 25 


Rare Gases, The, 24 

Rainbow Lights, How to Make, 249 

Rainbow Liquid, How to Make a, 233 

Recipes, Useful Household, 263 

Red Cochineal Dye, 271 

Red Congo Acts, How, 15 

Red Fire, How to Make, 256 

Red Flash-Light, 252 

Red Flash Paper, 254 

Red Ink, How to Make, 275 

Red Lead, 169 

Red Litmus Paper, 14 

Red Logwood, Dye, 271 

Red Phosphorus, 39 

Reduction, 29 

Residue, 129 

Resin Bubbles, How to Blow, 90 

Refrigerant, Ammonia as a, n6 

Retort, Glass, 9 

Ring Stand, A Bought, 2 

Ring Stand, How to Make, 2 

Rock-Candy Crystals, How to Make, 66 

Roses White, How to Make Red, 106 

Rouge, 26 

Royal Water, 135 

Ruby Copper, 150 

Rubber Stoppers for Bottles, 8 

Rubber Tubing, 10 

Rust, 26 

Rutherford Splits Up the Atom, 22 

Safe Dry-Cleansing Compound, A, 265 
Safe and Sane Fireworks, 246 
Safety Lamp Works, How the, 199 
Sal Ammoniac, 64, in 
Sal Soda, 141 

Salt, Common Table, 146, 147 
Saltpeter, 149 
Salts Are, What the, 140 
Salts, Bases and Acids, 139 
Salts, How to Make Various, 146 



INDEX 


297 


Sand,144, 265 

Sapolio, How to Make, 265 

Saponification, 145, 264 

Saturated Solution Defined, 67 

Scale in the Boiler, 60 

Scales or Balance, 10 

Scales or Balance, Hand, ii 

Scandium, 191 

Scheele, 99, 161 

Schonbein and Ozone, 30, 31 

Secret Writiug Ink, To Make, 67, 237 

Self-Extinguishing Match, The, 44 

Self-Lighting Flame, How to Make a, 91 

Self-Lighting Match, A, 35, 36 

Sensation of Heat, The, 196 

Serpents, How to Make Pharaoh’s, 260 

Siderite, 165 

Silica, 249 

Silk, Bleaching Compound for, 268 
Silk and Woolen Goods, Acid Dyes for, 
274 

Silver, 175, 176 
Silver Alloys, 181 

Silver as a Conductor of Electricity, 171 
Silver Bromide Emulsion, How to Make 
a, 218 

Silver Chloride, Action of Light on, 214 
Silver Chloride, How to Make, 214 
Silver Coin Alloy, 181 
Silver, How Light Acts on, 12 
Silver Nitrate, 213 
Silver Paper, 223 

Silverware Chemically, How to Clean, 
279 

Silverware Electrically, How to Clean, 
279 

Slacked Lime, 140, 141 

Slow Oxidation Causes Decay, How, 28 

Smithsonite, 163 

Smoke Experiment, The Great, 133 


Smoke Invisibly Into a Tumbler, How 
to Pass, 235 

Smoke Rings, To Make Phosphine, 252 
Smoke-Screen, How to Make a, 102 
Smooth the Edges of a Glass Tube, How 
to, 16 

Soap Bubble, Levitation of a, 55 
Soap-Bubble Solution, 89 
Soap Bubbles, To Blow Cauliflower, 89 
Soap Bubbles, To Blow Hydrogen, 88 
Soap, How to Make Colored, 264 
Soap, How to Make Floating, 264 
Soap, How to Make Glycerine, 264 
Soap, How to Make Hard, 145 
Soap, How to Make Perfumed, 264 
Soap, How to Make Soft, 146 
Soap, How to Make Toilet, 263 
Soap-and-Water Cleans, How, 146 
Soaps are. What, 145 
Soaps, How to Make, 263 
Soda, 142, 154 
Soda Lye, 139, 141 
Soda Water Fizz, What Makes, 25 
Sodium, 154 
Sodium Amalgam, 182 
Sodium Chloride Flame, Ghastly Ap¬ 
pearance of, 205 

Sodium Chloride, How to Make, 146 
Sodium Hydroxide, 141, 142 
Sodium Nitrate, 127, 148 
Sodium Sulphate, How to Make, 147 
Soft Coal, 207 

Soft Soap, How to Make, 146 

Solder, Roofing, 180 

Solder, Tinware, 180 

Soldering Fluid, How to Make a Good, 

134, 135 

Solio Paper, 223 

Solvent, Water the Greatest, 118 
Solvents, Acids the Great, 118 





298 


INDEX 


Sound, How Hydrogen Acts on, 93 
Sound-Waves are. What, 210 
Sound-Waves, How a Bell Sends Out, 

2II 

Spark Coil, The, 79 

Sparklers, To Make Fourth of July, 250 
Sphalerite, 162 

Spirit, How to Materialize a, 241 

Spirit of Salt, 99, 130 

Spirit Pictures, How to Make, 239 

Spontaneous Combustion, 29, 102, 129 

Spongy Platinum, 92 

Spots, How to Take Out, 265 

Stabine, 173 

Stains, How to Take Out, 265 
Stalactites, 157 
Stalagmites, 157 
Stannum, 168 
Steam, 57 
Steel, 179' 

Stibnite, 151 
Stirring Rod, Glass, 5 
Substance Defined, 22 
Substantive Dyes, Direct, 270 
Sugar into Carbon, How to Change, 125 
Sugar of Lead is. What, 169 
Sulphide Test Paper Acts, HOw, 15 
Sulphur Burns in Oxygen, How, 41 
Sulphur Dioxide, 119 
Sulphur Dioxide, How to Make, 122 
Sulphur Disinfectant, 269 
Sulphur, How to Test Water for, 74 
Sulphur Trioxide, 119, 121, 122 
Sulphuric Acid, 119, 121, 125 
Sulphurous Acid, 268 
Sun’s Rays, Refraction of the, 20 
Symbols, List of Elements and Their, 
282 

Symbols Mean, What the, 191 
Sympathetic Ink, How to Make a 
Fluorescent, 239 


Sympathetic Ink, To Make a Heat, 238 
Sympathetic Ink, To Make a Light, 238 
Synthetic Compound, 57 
Synthetic Dyes, 270 
Synthetic Water, 57 
Synthetic Water with an Alcohol Flame, 
80 

Synthetic Water with an Electric Spark, 
79 

T and Y Glass Tubes, 10 
Table of Metal Activities, 151 
Temperature of Water, How to Lower 
the, 64 

Temperatuie of Water, How to Raise 
the, 63 

Temporary Hardness of Water, 59, 69 
Test for Ozone, How to, 31 
Test-Tube Brush, 5 
Test-Tube Holder, 5 
Test Tubes, 5 

Test Water for Iron, How to, 74 
Test Water for Mineral Substances, 
How to, 71 

Test Water for Odor and Color, To, 70 
Test Water for Organic Matter, To, 71 
Test Water for Sulphur, How to, 74 
Tests for the Purity of Distilled Water, 

63 

Theory of Ionization, 78 
Thermal Nerves of the Body, 196 
Thermit Experiment, To Make a, 160 
Thermit Process, 160, 164 
Tin, 168 

Tin Amalgams, 182 

Tin-Foil, 168 

Tin and Lead Alloys, 180 

Tin Oxide is. What, 27 

Tin Rust, Apparatus for Making, 27 

Tin-Stone, 150, 168 

Tincture of Iron is. What, 228 



INDEX 


299 


Toilet Soap, How to Make, 263 
Tone the Print, How to, 224 
Toning Solution, How to Make a, 224 
Tube, How to Cut a Glass Tube, 16 
Tubing, German Soft Glass, 10 
Tubing, How to Work Glass, 16 
Tubing, Rubber, 10 
Tubing, T and Y, 10 
Tumeric Dye, Brown, 271 
Tumeric Dye, Yellow, 271 
Tungsten, 179 

Tumeric Yellow, To Dye, 272 
Turkey Red Defined, 109 
Turkey Red Dye, 273 
Twilight, Length of, 19 
Tweezers or Forceps, 9 
Two-Necked Bottle, 8 
Type-Metal Alloy, 180 

U-Tube, A 5-inch, 9 
Useful Household Recipes, 263 
Uses of Aqua Ammonia, Some, 116 
Universal Bleaching Compound, 268 

Valentino, 173 
Vanadium, 179 

Vegetable Organism, Microscopic, 25 
Vegetable Matter, Oxidation of, 28 
Velox Print, How to Make a, 225 
Venetian Red is. What, 26 
Ventilation Affects Combustion, How, 
198 

Vibration, 210 
Vibrations of a Bell, 209 
Violet Cochineal Dye, 272 
Violet Flash Paper, 254 
Voice, Curious Effects of Hydrogen on 
the, 94 

Volcano, How to Make a Miniature, 174 
Volume, 193 


Wash the Negative, How to, 222 
Watch Glasses, 9 

Water, Affinity of Hydrogen Chloride 
for, 130 

Water, How Ammonia Dissolves in, 112 
Water Bath, 90 
Water, Characteristics of, 56 
Water Cleans, How Soap-and-, 146 
Water of Crystallization, 65, 126 
Water, Electrolysis of, 76, 78 
Water for Iron, How to Test, 74 
Water for Mineral Substances, How to 
Test, 71 

Water for Odor and Color, To Test, 70 
Water for Sulphur, How to Test, 74 
Water-Glass, 249 
Water the Great Solvent, 118 
Water, Hard, 69 
Water, How to Analyze, 75 
Water, How to Boil, 59 
Water, How to Distil, 60, 63 
Water, How to Filter, 58 
Water, How to Lower the Temperature, 
of, 64 

Water, How to Purify, 58 
Water, How to Raise the Temperature 
of, 63 

Water is Good for. What, 56 
Water into Ink and Vice Versa, How to 
Change, 229 

Water into Its Original Gases, Separat¬ 
ing, 77 

Water into Ozone, How to Change, 138 

Water is Made of. What, 57 

Water is Soft or Hard, How to Tell if,69 

Water, Kinds of, 68 

Water, Metals that Dissolve in, 139 

Water, Permanent Hardness in, 60, 69 

Water, Soft, 69 

Water, Synthetic, 57 



300 


INDEX 


Water, Temporary Hardness of, 59, 69 
Water, Tests for Purity of Distilled, 63 
Water Vapor, 24, 25 
Water-Waves, How a Stone Sends Out, 
209 

Water and Wine from the Same Pitcher, 
How to Pour, 227 

Water with Ammonia, To Soften, 116 
Water with an Electric Spark, Synthetic, 
79 

Water, The Wizardy of, 56 
Waterproof Goods, How to, 280 
Waves in the Air, 210 
Waves in the Ether, 210 
Weather Forecaster, How to Make a, 68 
Weight or Pressure of the Air, 20 
White Flash-Light, 251 
White Lead, 169 
White Magic of Chemistry, 227 
White Phosphorus, 39 
White Vitriol, 126, 163 
Wiessmatte means. What, 172 
Wine and Water from the Same Pitcher, 
How to Pour, 227 


Wizardy of Water, The, 56 
Wood’s Metal Alloy, 180 
Wool, Bleaching Compound for, 268 
Woolen and Silk Goods, Acid Dyes for, 
274 

WoulfTs Bottle, 8 

Write Indelibly on Cotton Goods, How 
to, 126 

Write with Fire Ink, How to, 247 
Writing Ink, How to Make, 275 

Xenon, 24, 191 

Y and T Glass Tubing, 10 
Yellow Dye, Tumeric, 272 
Yellow Fire, How to Make, 258 
Yellow Phosphorus, 40 
Yellow Tumeric Dye, 271 

Zinc, 162, 163 
Zinc Amalgam, 182 
Zinc Blende, 162 

Zinc, The Rapid Oxidation of, 248 
Zinc White, 163 














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